Promise of Change
by BBBBlitzer
Summary: Naruhina fic. Story of Identity and Growth and Keeping your Promises. Romance, comedy and drama. Fairly Long. Some OC's. Some Mature References. Many dedications throughout to many different Manga, Anime, Movies and Television.
1. Return to Konoha

Edit: re-edited this thing again, explanations at bottom. To those who've already read this chapter there aren't any huge changes. Just adapted to suit my new found writing style in later chapters.

This story was created based from both the manga and the anime, thus some things may not be understood by people who haven't seen both.

**Naruto and all Naruto characters do not belong to me but to their creator. **

**Original characters belong to me, but since I doubt anyone could make money from them feel free to use them for non-profitable benefits. In fact if anyone did use my characters I would be deeply touched.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

'**Promise of Change'**

**Chapter 1: Return to Konoha**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

Miles of forest stretched before her. Trees, shrubs and vines were scattered haphazardly as far as her gifted eyes travelled. She really hadn't visited a forest in some time. At least six months. She was used to rocky mountain faces and dark castle corridors. The closest thing to a forest she could think of seeing recently was the one that surrounded the fortress like a moat through her bedroom window.

That forest was different though. The trees there were 'Oak' and stood at least twenty feet away from each other. It was easy to see which way you were heading through the long, dry leaves which hung limply from the branches of the great wide branches.

The trees here on the other hand were all alternate breeds, some were Red Wood, some Pine a couple of Birch scattered in odd locations, and all arranged purposefully, it seemed, to snare at the clothing of those who ran through them at high speed. Occasionally they would group together and form a great wall in her path. She was repeatedly flustered by them, convinced they had been purposefully planted to get in her way.

Every set of trees here looked so familiar, every small patch of undergrowth. Were it not for the steady pain in her legs she would have been sure she wasn't moving at all. She was moving though, and at a remarkable pace. Jiraiya and Tsunade followed behind as the 15 year old girl continued onward. Even for a Sannin, returning to Konoha from its borders within a day was no easy feat.

It put a harsh strain on the body, required releasing a constant flow of chakra into the muscles to keep them moving, as well as flowing some into the joints to keep them lubricated. Making the journey within 24 hours was almost impossible. This girl however, was attempting to make it within the night.

"Incredible," Tsunade muttered absently, her twin tails flailed daringly behind her.

"What the hell did he do to this girl?" Jiraiya travelled beside her. His face was serious, yet puzzled.

Frustrated for the lack of reply, he tried again, more forcefully.

"Oi, HAG! What the HELL did he do to this girl?" Jiraiya readjusted the bundle in his arms to the other shoulder so that he could speak directly to his former team-mate.

"How should I know? Baka," she muttered between breaths in her usual dismissive tone.

Tsunade was more than a little impressed. Her own apprentice, Haruno Sakura, would have fallen behind long ago. This one however, had actually overtaken her and had no intention of slowing down, if anything she was picking up speed.

"I think you're gonna' have to consider promoting this one after this, eh?" Jiraiya nodded in agreement to his own suggestion, a habit he'd picked up living alone.

"Of course," Tsunade smiled, "I can't have such a talented kunoichi be a Genin forever?"

Jiraiya was quiet for a moment.

"I was referring to this one," Jiraiya arched his head to the sleeping teen rolled over on his left shoulder, "That one too" motioning to Tsunade's own bundle.

……………………**..-------------------------……………….**

Hundreds of candles lit the damp shrine. They sat perched on high alters some hanging from the rafter and swung slowly in a monotonous fashion. Many flickered delicately as the heavy, wooden doors lay burnt and broken on the floor, allowing bursts of wind and rain to flow freely through the gaping doorway. A storm had brew sometime during the battle it seemed, and the castle itself was suffering the strain of its intensity. Many Konoha ninja attended to the wounded in between rocks on the mountainside, grateful for a moment where neither side could advance.

At least fifty Iwagakure **(Rock)** Jounin stood in and around the gaping doorway. The Tsuchikage stood before them, smirking shamelessly at the sight before him. From the left, a member of the proclaimed strongest ninja team of Konohagakure lie dead on the floor, great burns marked his face and clothing. An exhausted kunoichi lie over him sobbing like a widow.

The woman Hokage stood just before him, also taking in the scene. She had several minor injuries as well as a severe looking stomach wound. To the right another member of the grand team Sujin lay on his stomach, gasping for breath. Several mysterious tattoo's were moving along his face, receding beneath his clothing. His long blonde ponytail lay wet and bloody over his face.

Propped against the wall was Konoha's jinjuuriki, he was clutching a deep claw mark in his side blood flowing freely through an orange jacket, panting heavily, only barely retaining consciousness.

"I think it's fair to say that this mission was a success," the Tsuchikage spoke up unexpectedly. There was no emotion in his voice but his smile hadn't faltered.

Tsunade turned to face him, but said nothing, eyeing him with unhidden suspicion.

"You Leaf ninja are far too trusting, to send your strongest shinobi on a suicide mission" the Rock Kage tut-tutted mockingly but his words were long and drawn out, as if savouring the moment.

Again Tsunade remained silent, clenching her fists tightly.

"This society the boy created is impressive, no? An entire village comprised of Missing-Nin," he smiled looking around the shrine as though he could see some wonderful rainbow, "But alas, the combined forces of the Sand and the Leaf have crushed his pathetic dream, it's too bad, there aren't many castles like this left"

"So it was a trap then. Huh?" Tsunade chose to skip his gloating ramble.

"Oh, you realise it now do you" he chuckled, enthusiasm dripped on his voice but was promptly sucked dry, "The leaf ends here tonight!"

"You had us kill our own shinobi, … so that you could … kill us when we were wounded?" Tsunade smirked dryly, she had been expecting treachery, but not of this magnitude, "No wonder you were late."

"We tried not to get caught up in all the violence, eh?" his eyes focused into hers,

"Cleaning up is usually much more rewarding"

"We will not be defeated so easily …!"

"Bravery is pointless in this situation, Hokage" the Tsuchikage stepped forward slowly, cutting her off, kunai in hand, "You used us, as much as we used you. Tell me you didn't undertake in this mission just to kill off a few missing-nin?" his voice mocked incredulousness.

Tsunade didn't speak.

He continued to approach, "You were after the Akatsuki! Hoping they would join this Missing-Village and reveal they're location!" this wasn't a question, he was laying the facts.

"They ARE missing-nin and S-class criminals!" Tsunade responded bitterly.

"You just don't want to lose your little weapons there,…" as he said this he pointed to the young boy clasping at his side, and then to the one who lay dead upon the floor.

"…shut up," a voice spoke quietly, unheard.

"I can't tell you how difficult it was convincing you to send one of them on this mission, but two monsters will die today, as well as the Hokage herself," his voice picked up speed as his excitement grew, twirling the kunai between his fingers.

"….shut up…,"

"It shall be a wonderful story I tell to your subordinates, Hokage-sama," he raised his voice to act out the scene, "Your beloved Hokage, and two Konoha ninja have been killed, caught in the crossfire of two released Bijuu."

The ninja's behind him began to chuckle ominously.

"… please shut up!" it spoke again somewhat louder now, but was drowned out by the many ninja's horrible cackling.

"With no Hokage, or apparent leader left, Konoha will be EA-SY to pick apart," his hand raised to his forehead pushing his triangular hat from his eyes, "You brought it on yourself you know."

The Tsuchikage was but a few steps from Tsunade now.

"If you had been a better LEA-der you would have never sent your BEST ninja on a suicide mission. And might I say that if he is the strongest the leaf has to offer, the Leaf is a pack of WEAK FOOLS"

"PLEASE SHUT UP!"

Heads turned all round. Still kneeling over the dead teen was the kunoichi. She was trembling, her long dark hair running down her back, two locks covered her eyes.

"How dare you!" the ominous Kage blinked in surprise "… how dare you underestimate us … how dare you decide things automatically … how dare you call us … weak!" she raised slightly, legs trembling, slowly getting to her feet, "How dare you call my sensei,… the strongest konoha-nin, weak!"

As her head rose to meet him, the Tsuchikage looked over her amused for a moment. Her white and blue clothes were torn extensively, gaping holes through her jacket revealed many concealed blades bound to her body. Her face was surprisingly pale, and her long dark blue hair hung down to her waist. Two thick bangs crossed past her forehead, stopping somewhere over her chin. And her eyes …

"OH! We have a Hyuuga present" the man smiled coldly, eyes widening, "It's quite difficult to get those eyes you know?"

She panted heavily. She was in a battle position now. One hand in front, the other at her side, legs parted just slightly.

"Forgive me Hyuuga-sama?" he made his satire of the title evident by raising his arms to his hips "I suppose we can take your eyes and say that one of the cursed fox's ate them, eh?"

She continued to breathe deeply, while the Jounin eyed her body hungrily.

"Or perhaps we'll take you as is, and remove the eyes later, …no?" he looked back to his subordinates who nodded in agreement, then laughed in a crow like fashion at the proposed idea, some made rude gestured.

The girl pulsed chakra into her forearms extending two long blades from her elbows.

He took a step in her direction, "Are you going to …"

Time stood.

From the rafters something fell, no … something flew, it descended with great speed, a single large wing flailed behind it, as red devil eyes stared unblinkingly downward.

An angel was falling from the heavens. The candles of the shrine fluttered violently in its presence, it carried a giant crucifix of steel judgement.

SSCHRULLLPPKKK

The Rock Jounin took unconscious steps backward. Before them stood a man where they're Kage had been. A dark cape covered his body, his legs were clearly bent under the weight of an enormous sword.

"…" The Tsuchikage coughed blood forming several low pitched gurgles as a thick, red liquid dribbled from his bearded chin.

"….Shut The FUCK Up!" venom coated his tongue while his eyes remained unfocused on a fluttering candle in the rafters.

He stood suddenly, raising the behemoth weapon, the Tsuchikage raised in tow, twitching violently as blood began to drip across the sword's length which protruded through his chest. The Jounin stepped back again, disgusted by the sight. Without warning the man twisted his wrist and swung the great, metal blade to his side. The wall was violently hit with a barrage of severed, bloody, Kage limbs.

………………**--------------------------………………….**

Tsunade dwelled on these thoughts for a moment longer before responding.

"He is already an Elite Jounin, to raise him any higher would be meaningless," she sighed, knowing that this would not suffice her perverted friend.

"Hmmph … There at least better be a celebration of sorts when we get back! … Huh? … Hey! Where'd they go." he motioned to the empty space before them and a small orange speck on the horizon.

They accelerated till the speck took a recognisable form.

"Heh, guess your right," Jiraiya quipped, "Even those known as the Legendary Sannin are getting beaten by Genin nowadays, eh?"

She was in view now, only about a few hundred meters ahead of them.

"HINATA! SLOW DOWN!" Tsunade's screams fell on occupied ears.

Tsunade was not in the mood for this girl's hormones. If there was anything she had learned from training Sakura, is that kunoichi go to extraordinary measures for 'they're boys'. Tsunade had been able to tell immediately that Naruto was one of Hinata's boys.

………………**..-------------------…………………….**

Just a few hours earlier….

"Hinata!" Tsunade had just finished explaining the evacuation order, "You, Jiraiya and I, are leaving first, … and by that, I mean now."

"Hai, Hokage-san …" Hinata eyes ventured downward to avoid the older woman's gaze.

"San? ….." Tsunade was puzzled, 'Sama' was the usual, … respectful … word to use.

Realization struck her, "Hinata, I apologise for the hassle I have put you both through."

Hinata looked up, surprised.

"I admit, this wasn't one of my best decisions. But I'll tell you now, I had complete faith that his mission would not be considered … suicidal"

Hinata smiled genuinely, "Arigatou, Hokage-sama."

"Now you grab whatever you can't live without and let's get going."

Tsunade watched as the girl's eyes mindlessly drifted to the blonde ninja lying unconscious in one of the makeshift Anbu Medical Tents.

"Tsunade!!!"

"Yes? Jiraiya," she tried to be sweet or gentle, or anything of that nature, but it came out annoyed instead. Standing outside the medical tents was not where she wanted this conversation.

"How do you expect me to make it to Konoha by tomorrow carrying two ninja, as well as that 'FAT-ASSED SWORD'"

"You're a Sannin aren't you? Act like one"

"I should never have even come here, I could be retired you know!"

"So could I! It's your fault I'm the Hokage! Remember?"

"Well then you should be plenty strong enough to carry those two" Jiraiya pointed accusingly to the two sleeping Ninja who lay opposite Naruto.

"Baka!!"

"Hag!!"

"Ano … I can carry one of them," Hinata mumbled a small attempt to console the two. _'Really they're supposed to be adults.'_

"No. If we want to get back fast, you'll need to be as light as possible."

"Well if I carry TWO we'll be just as slow!!!" Jiraiya emphasized appropriately.

"… I can do it," Hinata tried to sound convincing but her eyes dropped to the floor.

"See?! She can carry the 'Sword Bugger' and I'll carry the 'Rapist Bastard'"

Tsunade promptly slapped him, HARD. "Don't say that word, do you realise what will happen if Kurenai hears that."

"Gomen …"

Tsunade wasn't convinced that was an appropriate apology but let it slide.

"Hinata!"

"Hai"

"You carry Naruto, I'll carry Auron, Jiraiya you carry Taoru" she ordered decisively.

"Naruto-kun ….." Hinata gripped her calf tightly.

"How come I have to carry the one with the sword?" Jiraiya face scrunched up into an accusatory stare. Tsunade sighed loudly.

"Baka."

…………**..-----------------…………………..**

The gates of Konoha towered over them. Hinata kneeled low onto the ground, gasping for breath, Naruto still lay unconscious on her back. Her hands were sprawled into the dirt, sweat dripped from her entire body. Jiraiya and Tsunade stopped behind her quite casually. They looked at each other sharing an agreed thought.

Hinata took a moment to note they're appearance. She hadn't actually seen them for the last two years, until that afternoon of course. Tsunade was still an elegant looking woman, in her late twenties by the look of her. Her green coat sat loosely on her shoulders billowing slightly in the night wind. Her long blonde hair was separated into two childlike ponytails which fell along her back. Her determined brown eyes reeked of determination and defiance. A single purple diamond sat serenely on her brow clashing with her cream coloured skin. Oh, and her obscene breasts were still there too. Hinata didn't like them much, she had thought, they were too big for a ninja.

Jiraiya on the other hand had changed a little. Hinata never really saw much of the hermit before he left, …with Naruto, … but she noted that he seemed a little more withered than she remembered, older, almost like he'd had a stroke. His green and red coat still hung over his boulder sized form. His great white hair lay in dreadlocks down to his feet. Two thick red marks stretched beneath each eye to his jaw, Hinata presumed this was some sort of tattoo or face paint that was fashionable among rowdy boys. Kiba used to have some in a similar fashion.

"Alright, Jiraiya and I are going to take these two to the Hospital." Tsunade stated bluntly, almost like she was bored, "You take Naruto to his house and put him to bed."

'_To bed…..!!!'_ Hinata's thoughts raced suddenly, she couldn't believe such an innocent statement was making her blush, had two years training done nothing?

"He's not going to the hospital?"

"No, I already healed his worst wounds and the rest have already healed themselves," Tsunade stopped to marvel at his regenerative ability, "So,… he should just need some rest."

"Hai!"

The moment Hinata had hurried down one of the empty streets, Uzumaki still piggy-backing, Tsunade and Jiraiya dropped they're cargo and fell to the floor in a sudden burst of deep gasping breaths.

"That girl …. is not normal!" Jiraiya heaved between his long, weighty breaths.

…………………**.-------------------------………………..**

It didn't take long to find herself within Konoha. The blue haired girl was surprised by how little had changed. She was sure she was going to get lost in a maze of new infrastructure. But instead found herself travelling unconsciously down familiar streets. The Hokage monument now had a large Tsunade sculpture next to the Yondaime, other than that, there was very little difference. Finding Naruto's house was a very easy task, she'd been there before after all. Wait … had she? She couldn't remember, she knew she'd dreamt of it. No, she hadn't been there before. But she knew where it was. That was enough.

Her thoughts were broken as a warm breath stroked her cheek. Hinata shot up, rigid, blushing a violent red. In his sleep, Naruto had moved his head on her shoulder MUCH closer to her face, than she had been prepared for. His cheek was right against her ear. Hinata noticed that her eye twitched involuntarily.

She must have looked ridiculous she thought. The boy was a fair bit taller than she was, even hunched over on her back, his feet were raised barely a few inches above the ground, while his hands hung over her neck and low down her chest. She readjusted his legs gently in her grip and continued down the street. Having stopped running she now had enough time to think about the predicament she was in. Normal ninja would be thinking about how her Kage had allowed Taisan to act out as a missing-nin, and whether or not this was within a Kage authority. They would also be wondering if they would be considered a missing-nin by the rest of the elders or the village. Hinata was not a normal ninja.

'_What if he wakes up … His face is so close … His hair's a little longer than I remember … Kami, his face is so close …. He's a lot taller than before … Where are his hands?! … What am I supposed to say if he wakes up? … Is he going to hate me?' _

Hinata's thoughts were promptly cut short when she arrived outside of Naruto's apartment. She set him down carefully against the wall when she realised the problem. The door. She checked the knob, already knowing it would be locked. She furrowed her brow in mild irritation.

"I guess it would be too much to ask you where your key is?" Hinata asked the unconscious form smiling at the idiocy of her own question. Blushing she checked his breast pocket, empty, she checked his pack on his leg. Kunai's, Throwing Stars, a few explosive tags, a couple of pills ('Soldier Pills?'), some more kanji notes with chakra compressing abilities, and a few 'weapon summoning' scrolls… but no keys.

"Ano .." she bit her lip and checked both trouser pockets.

'_How … odd…' _

There were a few pieces of string, a couple of colourful stones and a flower that had been crushed in his pocket. The other pocket held similar items except for a small plush frog.

"Gama-chan!" Hinata squeaked in excitement, she had almost forgotten about Naruto's peculiar purse.

Opening it she found a large sum of money, which sat creased and messy in no particular order, as well as a small, flat, leather wallet of some sort. She continued to check through the coins and notes and sighed when she found no keys. Curiosity opened the wallet and discovered that it was in fact a small pack of photographs, each one placed behind a little plastic sheet. There were six photographs altogether.

The first one was a picture of Sakura. She was standing on a bridge, an annoyed look on her face, her hair was still long like it was in the academy but she wore her forehead protector.

'_Must've been before she cut it.'_

Hinata presumed Sakura hadn't agreed to have this photograph taken as her hand was stretched out to cover her face from the camera.

Below it was a picture of Sasuke, he wasn't facing the camera, but the Uchiha crest on his back gave away his identity. Even in a photograph he seemed cold. Hinata noticed beneath it some writing that had been crossed out on the plastic sheet. It wasn't difficult to read "BAKA."

The next photograph was of Kakashi. It was a huge picture of his head his downcast eyes told her he had been reading his mysterious book at the time.

Below that was a picture of a thin boy she didn't know, Shikamaru and Tsunade. The thin boy was sitting in a hospital bed eating a large packet of potato chips, while Shikamaru stood beside him with a broken finger which he held up in a peace signal. It was a surprise to see Shikamaru doing anything so … troublesome. Tsunade was behind them smiling politely with a stack of papers in her hands. There was writing on the actual photograph of this one rather than the plastic sheet …

'Get well soon!!!'

Hinata smiled for no apparent reason, just happy to be looking through something Naruto considered important enough to carry with him.

The next one, was a picture of Lee, Neji and Ten-Ten. Lee had bandages over one arm and was holding a crutch in the other but smiled in his typical freakish manner. Ten-Ten was further in the background practicing with her kunai, she smiled at the camera in a broad and freakish manner. Her cousin …

'… _Neji-niisan' _

Hinata's fingers twitched at the memory. The hatred in her cousin's eyes. She shocked herself by laughing when she read what had been written and drawn on his image.

'GIRLY BOY' was written in big red letters beneath his face, he had rosy cheeks and red lips all drawn by Naruto she assumed. There were also crudely drawn purple earrings in his ears, a red nose piercing, a yellow tiara, and some red devil horns. She struggled to stifle her laughter having to drop the wallet a moment to use both hands to cover her mouth. Finally composed, she picked up the leather 'comedian' and flipped to the final image. Her breath caught in her throat.

It was a photograph of … herself.

She closed the wallet immediately and systematically put it into her own trouser pocket. It was too much. Far too much for her to try to understand. Picking up Naruto once again she bound down the street to the nearest hotel she could find. Blushing all the way.

……………………**.------------------------……………………….**

"So … You gonna tell me what this was all about?" the Toad Hermit was not in a sympathetic mood, and his old team mate was not going to be let off just because she was exhausted. Her decisions had led Konoha into serious danger.

"I don't know what you mean …" Tsunade attempted to shrug it off.

An awkward silence was shared between the two high ranking Shinobi. The two unconscious teens lay between them on hospital beds in the dimly lit room.

"I mean giving a ninja a mission that was never recorded … Giving a shinobi a mission that meant becoming a traitor!"

Jiraiya didn't betray his words with emotion, he knew that Tsunade was under stress, and would have a good reason for her choice. He just didn't understand them.

"It was a tactical choice made between the Rock and Leaf village, we were both worried about the Missing-Nin Shinobi village on our borders," Tsunade said as emphatically as possible without raising her voice.

"The Hidden-Missing Village?" Jiraiya offered.

"Exactly …. It was decided to send in a spy to infiltrate the Hidden Village of Missing," she adopted a different tact now, stating it as if it were a report.

"Taoru-san was decided upon as the best candidate, three months after joining the Missing ranks he was declared the leader, and communications between us became impossible."

"He became a Kage after three months?" Jiraiya was genuinely surprised, "Didn't they suspect him?"

"No … considering their betrayal, I think many of the Missing-nin were actually Rock ninjas who were playing part in the charade, they voted him in, …to stop the communications, …so that he couldn't leave the village," again Tsunade was forced to speak more personally, … more guiltily. Jiraiya could tell that she had been concerned.

"Why did you send him in?" he demanded, he refused to be lenient on her, this decision caused a war, "And how did it come to that battle?"

"The Country of Wind intervened, they found the Missing Village a threat to their secret techniques, and they're borders. They demanded that we come to the same conclusion."

Tsunade took a breath and attempted to look at her partner, she decided looking at his chest would be sufficient, "…if we hadn't fought them our relationship with the Sand Village would have been compromised, we couldn't let them know that one of our Shinobi was leading the Missing-Nin.

"And why did you choose him?"

Silence.

"Tsunade …"

"He was our village's strongest,… had the Akatsuki revealed themselves to the Missing Village, he would be the only one of our village, with a fighting chance until support arrived."

"You really think a teenager could beat a member of Akatsuki?"

"Not likely … but … a chance …. it's better than 'definite' suicide."

Silence.

"…So … why is the Hyuuga girl involved?

Tsunade began to laugh. Jiraiya watched, puzzled.

"Apparently," Tsunade continued to giggle, "She's his subordinate"

Jiraiya blinked then spoke incredulously, "Why's that so funny?"

"You never met her old sensei?" a voice spoke from the door.

……………**.----------------------…………………**

**End Chapter 1**

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A/N

As anyone who's read this before may have noticed I have cut the chapters into smaller portions. I would prefer to keep them long on request from Mormongoth, but unfortunately either my computer or fanfiction can't take the strain of the upload. Apologies. Anyway there have been some minor changes, mostly to correct grammar. I'm surprised by how many compliments I received on my grammar considering all the mistakes. If anyone doesn't like it like this and preferred the old version I still have it and can upload it if needed. But honestly I'm pretty sure this version's better. A last shout out to Damewren who is a great author and the reason I started this story.


	2. Lavender

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

………………**..------------------……………………**

previously…

It was a photograph of … herself.

She closed the wallet immediately and systematically put it into her own trouser pocket. It was too much. Far too much for her to try to understand. Picking up Naruto once again she bound down the street to the nearest hotel she could find. Blushing all the way.

………………**..------------------……………………**

'**Promise of Change'**

**Chapter 2: Lavender! Upon a Bearskin Rug!**

………………**..------------------……………………**

"Ano … Excuse me, I would very much like to rent a room," Hinata spoke as sweetly and as pleasantly as she could muster.

The innkeeper looked down at the scene, a young, pale-faced teen covered in blotches of mud and wearing a horribly torn white/blue jacket was carrying on her back a much larger boy who wore a bright orange and black jumpsuit also torn and dirty, his head actually leaning on the top of the girls bowl cut fringe, creating an odd mix of dirty blonde and neatly cut blue hair.

"Ano…"

"Oh! Yes! Sorry, I was elsewhere," the man smiled warmly, "How many nights?"

"One please," The man's eyebrows perked slightly, a motion Hinata did not miss and was about to speak up when …

"M'afraid there's only the one room left, it's a little more expensive, but as I can see you're ninja, 'with big fat ninja pay checks,' that shouldn't be a big problem for just the one night. Yes?"

"That's fine! Arigatou," taking the key from the man she proceeded up the stairs. the key read DOUBLE – 3A. She couldn't help but notice the ten's of other keys labelled SINGLE that stood on hangers behind the man. She chose to believe that the man was only trying to make some extra money off of her and not suggesting pre-marital, underage relations, … especially not when one was unconscious.

The room was easy enough to find, third floor closest to the stairs. The room was not cheap, she admitted to herself, it would have been cheaper to break Naruto's door and buy him a new one. But she could never do that.

She lay the boy down gently on the bed, which she quickly realised was formed in the shape of a heart. For a moment she ignored that, and lay him down straight like setting up for dinner. Then took a good look around the room she had bought for his night. She bit her lip at the sight.

'_A honeymoon suite!!!' _

Large scented candles were scattered around he room, already lit with a small protective lamp over each to avoid fire. Everything was red, or gold, or reflective. Hovering over the bed itself was a full-length mirror. Hinata cringed at the thought.

'_What … What will he think when he wakes up here?' _

Beneath her feet was a large woolly rug which tickled her toes around her open shoes. A bear skin lay at the foot of the bed. She ventured into the next room, a bathroom. There was an enormous porcelain bath in there, even the Hyuuga household didn't have an indoor bath this big! A strange array of exotic oils and lotions were neatly placed around the sink. She picked one up curiously.

"Lavender?" She eyed the bath again, suddenly feeling incredibly dirty.

………………**..--------------------------------…………………….**

"Hinata's sensei?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"Yes. Yuhi Kurenai!" the woman stepped in through the hospital doorway, eyeing her two sleeping team mates.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sujin-san," Tsunade smiled politely at the woman ushering her attention.

She was very skinny, but very muscular, Tsunade needed no proof that this woman was a fierce physical fighter, rivalling herself as far as brute force was concerned. The woman wore her typical ninja gear that she had come accustomed to, tight fitting white/light grey trousers in a camouflage pattern, a white long sleeved leather shirt which hugged her thin naval, a ninja vest which she had somehow gotten in a white/grey camouflage pattern, and a set of white gloves and boots.

Tsunade honestly didn't understand why she wore a camouflage patterned outfit when her clothes were so 'glaringly' white. She was a middle aged woman, in her forty's now at least, unlike herself Sujin made no attempt to hide her age, she honestly couldn't imagine the woman ever wearing make up. She had pale skin and blue eyes, her eyebrows were actually a faded grey colour and her hair was held into a frayed blonde ponytail which ended at the back of her neck. A few hairs stuck out of place making an ill-conceived fringe.

"Yuhi Kurenai …" Jiraiya drifted into thought, "That's really not very funny y'know? YOU slapped me earlier for even mentioning THAT."

Tsunade scratched her head with her forefinger and muttered an embarrassed apology, then attempted to drift into a new conversation, "So Sujin, did anything interesting happen here while we were away?"

"Konohagakure was attacked by an army of Rock Ninja," she stated bluntly.

"NANI!!!!" the two sannin's spoke in unison.

Unfazed Sujin continued, "They have been defeated and eradicated, they underestimated us and sent a mere party of two-hundred members."

"NANI! Two hundred ROCK ninja?!" Tsunade simply couldn't believe this, "Why isn't there any damage?"

"They didn't reach within a kilometre of the village walls, the few ninja's left behind and myself defeated what we could manually. But I was forced to resort to a Kuchiyose technique to remove the rest of them. There were no Leaf casualties."

Tsunade and Jiraiya were left dumbfounded. This woman's physical strength was legendary. They were both well aware of that. She reportedly had an extremely powerful animal contract which she had not passed down to either of her students, she would never reveal with which animal however … To defeat an entire army …

"Excellent work, Sujin. For a 'plain-looking-old-woman you are truly a credit to Konoha!" Jiraiya gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, while Tsunade said nothing, still lost in thought.

"Arigatou Jiraiya-sama," either she had not heard his words properly or she didn't care, "How are my team-mates."

"They'll heal," Tsunade was still recovering from hearing that her village had almost been destroyed in her absence, "But what I'm more concerned about is their fate, … a correctional institution seems like a distinct possibility." Tsunade trailed off, she did not want such great ninja confined.

"Taisan-kun must pay for betraying Konoha, as an example, it's only logical." Sujin stated, at this point Jiraiya began to realise a pattern in her speech, … she had no visible emotion.

"No,… not Taoru-san"

If Sujin was puzzled she didn't express it in her face. Jiraiya came to believe that she must be a strict follower of the book of 'Ninja Know How.' Her lack of emotion made a mockery of his earlier attempts with Tsunade.

"Taoru was under … orders to join the Missing Nin, it was an infiltration mission, the events got out of control and led to this situation.

'_A ninja must not show any emotion in any circumstance.'_ How he hated that book.

"I see, Taisan is a good student after all," Tsunade looked into her eyes searching for an answer to this, "Following the mission is the most important thing to a ninja, for the betterment of your country, even betrayal."

Silence.

"I'm glad you're taking this so well," Tsunade smiled unsurely.

"So? Hokage-sama. Who would the correctional institution be for?"

Silence.

……………**..------------------------…………………**

Hinata liked it quiet. At the Missing Village, it was always noisy, either from the drunken men who stayed out late in the castle corridors, to the wind which howled across the walls like a rabid dog. A bath was always quiet. She closed her eyes and drifted back into thought. Amazed that she actually had enough space to float in the lavender scented water and extend her fingertips to just barely touch the edges.

Yes she liked it quiet, but especially she loved how it was warm. Running in the rain at night had not been a pleasant experience, by the time it had stopped raining, her clothes were in a state far beyond waterlogged. The warmth of the bath seemed to ease her muscles slightly. Her thoughts drifted back to the boy laying unconscious in the next room.

'_He's going to hate me… '_ she thought bitterly.

……………**.-----------------------------………………..**

The storm was violent, the rain stung against her face and the wind pulled on her jacket violently, lightning crackled through the night sky behind her. Activating her blood limit she observed the scene around her. They were hiding. Everyone was fighting, but they were hidden. Hidden deep between the rocks below her. She had been sent to the East of the Main fortress with every available ninja to fend off the Leaf invasion, Taisan had gone to the West to combat the invading Sand. She knew this wouldn't be a pleasant meeting. Before long he stood before her.

"Why?" his raised voice shot at her through the lightning which ricocheted endlessly against the clouded sky behind her.

She said nothing.

"Tell ME!!!"

He stood precariously atop a boulder below her, she did the same, she felt relatively safe from other ninja, her Byakugan could easily sense any projectiles an enemy might throw. Him she wasn't sure of.

"Na-Naruto-kun …. I-I don't know w-why… I don't un- understand why y-you're attacking us …" She cursed herself, she hadn't stuttered in anyone's presence for the better part of a year.

"Don't give me that CRAP!!" he was so angry, why was he angry at her? She wouldn't allow herself to show her fear, so she assumed a blank expression, anyone looking would have thought she were dead inside.

"Na-Naruto-kun …" This was her chance, … possibly her last … to prove that she had changed. She moved into stance, one leg forward, opposite arm raised, the other at her side.

"Let us fight … honourably."

"KU-SO!!! KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!!!"

…………………**.--------------------------………………**

Hinata allowed herself to sink beneath the surface for a moment, the water filled her nostrils and she floated once more for breath.

'_I don't want to remember that.'_

……………………**.-----------------------………………..**

"…ku-so….." he hid between the rocks, many of his tenketsu were closed, and he had several deep gashes along his back. She saw him there. Hiding, just like everyone else. Many bunshin's were amongst the rocks as well, pretending to support similar wounds. Her eyes were clever though, she could notice the subtle differences between Kage Bunshin and real bodies unlike her cousin, working with Tai-sensei had helped her hone these skills.

"Na-Naruto-kun!" she spoke as loudly as she dared, "I-I do not wish to fight any more, please I can heal you."

"Ha, like I'll fall for that, you think I'm an idiot! BAKA!"

"Na-Naruto-kun, please don't make your clones speak for you," She saw the true Naruto twitch in surprise.

"I'm c-coming to get you now," Hinata made a few seals and disappeared. Invisible.

She walked past several of his clones on the way to his side, they were looking about, confused, she noticed one using a vision enhancing jutsu, and smiled when it still couldn't see her. Another attempted to release what it thought had to be a Genjutsu, it cursed bitterly when nothing happened.

"Did she run away?" she was next to him now. And he was completely oblivious to her presence

'_Just like … when we were in the academy'_

Even in the rain, she could create this effective invisibility jutsu, Tai-sensei would be proud.

"… na-naruto-kun," she barely whispered his name and quickly found a kunai flying in her direction, she dodged it smoothly, still maintaining the invisibility, although with great difficulty.

She silently crept before him, he was still looking in confusion over to where he had heard her voice. She swallowed loudly and held his wrists in her own, releasing the jutsu.

"Nani!!"

"Pl-please calm down, Naruto-kun."

THWACK!!!

Hinata didn't move in time as a strong hand collided with her head in an open handed fashion. She winced as a surge of chakra burned her face and she was pushed several feet backward.

"Father …." she didn't need the Byakugan to know, she didn't even need to look up, she recognised the pain, Juuken, … Gentle fist.

It was a blow only her father was capable of. She looked up anyway, into his burning eyes. Neji stood behind him, an unchained hatred in his eyes as he glanced at her, his pupil-less eyes still scared her. They're intensity faded slightly as he helped Naruto to his feet. Her father's eyes scared her more. They weren't in hatred, they were in revulsion. This was far from the family reunion she had hoped for, instead of swapping stories over tea, she lay on the hard graphite, drenched, with a numbed cheek and ripped clothing with various sharp blades protruding from her elbows and knees.

This was horrible. But now, another set of eyes were frightening her even more than her family's. Deep blue ones, … they looked at her in a way she had never seen before, from anyone. Ever. It wasn't hatred, or anger, or disappointment ….

'…_betrayal?'_

…………**..--------------------…………**

When Hinata finally opened her eyes she received a terrible shock, another pair staring back at her.

"AA-glllrgh" her scream was choked as she sunk like a rock beneath the water flailing her arms and legs comically in horror, swallowing several mouthfuls of Lavender scented bathwater. Desperate for air she rose again, spat out what was in her mouth and quickly grabbed a towel to cover herself. She looked up again to the ceiling. She didn't like seeing herself naked, and a mirror above a bath seemed the closest thing to a natural enemy.

……………**..------------------……………….**

"I can't go 'home' tonight," she sighed to herself, "they will be there when I wake up," she thought miserably.

After tonight, it was more than possible she wouldn't be welcome to even call it home.

A thought struck her, she tried to dismiss it. _'No I can't stay here, I'll never make it through the night"_

She held her undergarments after thoroughly washing them in her bath until she decided they were clean and promptly sat them upon a fireplace she hadn't noticed earlier in the main room. She lit it and grasped the fuzzy white dressing gown against her chest that she had found in the bathroom it had large red print letters that read 'HERS' across her back. She sat there hunched over for a few moments, mesmerised by the flames which flickered like flowers in a breeze. She stood up slowly and looked at the boy still sleeping soundly in the bed. A large humorously shaped clock on the wall read 3:00am. She smiled at his sleeping figure and absently wandered over to his side. She found him much more mesmerising than the fire.

A few minutes passed before Hinata realised that her right hand had been stroking his hair and tracing the outline of his jaw. She recoiled it sharply and blushed crimson at her inability to control herself.

'_I could always sleep on the floor …. There's probably a spare blanket in one of the cupboards.' _

She walked to the bathroom, as she couldn't see any cupboards within the bedroom, but stopped short when she heard a soft cough behind her. She stood rigid, like she had done when his breath hit her ear. She gazed around at him, finding him still asleep. He coughed again. She was already at his side with a hand over his forehead, it was warm, very warm. Her other hand accidentally brushed his jacket, noticing the moisture, she squeezed it tightly as several cups of freezing cold water drained through her fingers. Realizing what she 'ought do' she blushed again, this time an impressive scarlet. Keeping him warm and dry … would be an unexpected guilty pleasure.

Breathing deeply she stepped forward again and gently unzipped his jacket, she placed one hand behind his head and propped him up so that she could get his arms out of the sleeves. Proudly she took the jacket and laid it on the rug by the fireplace to dry. A trophy of her accomplishment, she thought. She then picked the boy himself up and did likewise.

'_The shirt's mostly dry … and the trousers will dry by the fire ….'_

She quickly brought the blankets and cushions over as well. She held him up again so that she could bring the cushion below his head and the blanket around his body. As she began to lay him back down on the pillow she found herself falling as well.

'_How!! ….How did this happen!?' _

She was now lying next to him, Uzumaki Naruto, the no# 1 loudest konoha ninja, her idol, and she was laying in nothing but a hotel bathrobe next to him, her arm beneath his head. Trapped. She did what she always did. She blushed. She found herself thinking …

'_W-Well you did say you were going to sl-sleep on the fl-floor.'_ She thought it out immediately, wondering why even her dark side stuttered so horribly.

"na-naruto-kun….," her body was moving naturally now, if she ever told her sensei or her old team mates of this incident she would surely blame it on a combination of hormones, fatigue and lavender scented bath oils. His face was getting closer, no, wait, her face was getting closer to his, she couldn't stop herself now, she was lost. Caught by her own ingenious trap.

Her hand slipped beneath his black shirt which bore the konoha emblem on his chest, she stroked his abdominals appreciatively.

'_He's so toned…'_ Hinata thought, thinking of her own form in comparison.

Some small abdominals were present on herself, but her body relied more on a system of perfected chakra control, an ability Tai-sensei had taught her where, by using chakra, your chakra actually created more chakra, easily multiplying stamina and strength. She wasn't skinny, not like Sakura or Ino had been, she was always curvier than they were, fatter she presumed. She blushed even more deeply as her hand raised further, until it rest on his chest, hard yet smooth. She cringed at the thought of her own chest, unlike a REAL female ninja's chest, which was supposed to be small and pointed allowing for a much more slender and feminine figure, her own were plump and round, with little to no muscle protruding through the skin. She sighed, still admiring the fearless nature of her hands compared to her mind. When she awoke from her thoughts she realised that the blonde boy was no longer wearing his shirt, she was even more surprised to see it burning in the fireplace.

'_He's going to kill me ….!!'_ her face was but only a few millimetres from his now.

Her blush was proceeding through all humanly possible shades of red. His eyes were closed lost in his dreams. She could feel the breath on her lips now, she dare not blink as she stared at him, waiting for his eyes to shoot open and surprise her. But she simply could not stop now, now that she was so close. And then it happened.

She touched his lips with her own, still wide eyed, she held them there for a few moments in awkward silence before pulling away. It was strange and weird, but she told herself that she had enjoyed it. She could feel her self losing consciousness now, she hadn't fainted in two years, but she recognised the feeling immediately as great surges of blood rushed to her head and then fled in quick sporadic fashions.

Suddenly he moved! His mouth opened slowly as a word slipped out … Hinata yelped softly, certain she had awoken him. Certain she had been caught.

"Sakura?" his voice spoke from his dreams, and it crushed the kunoichi beside him.

This was as far as she could go. She brought her face into his chest and allowed herself to sob gently before falling out of this world and into one where Naruto said her name after she kissed him. A few small tears dripped down her chin.

……………**..----------------------……………….**

"I understand."

Sujin had been briefed entirely on everything the Hokage could recall from the incidents at the Missing-Village, her voice once again didn't betray her as emotion seemed as water in a desert.

"It seems .. so cruel … in a way that they were such good friends, but … I'm not sure if friendship can survive something like this" Jiraiya had learned a few things from Tsunade's briefing also

"Auron will pay for his past mistakes. I will ensure that Taisan does not attempt any rash decisions while waiting for your judgement."

Sujin had been glancing at Jiraiya when she said this, perhaps perplexed by his understanding of cruelty, Tsunade couldn't be sure. The woman was impossible to read.

"Might I recommend, however, that Auron's punishment be considered … after reviewing his mission success ratings."

This said, Sujin turned to leave the dimly lit room.

"Don't you want some time alone with them?" Tsunade asked surprised.

"No, I will see them tomorrow, when they are awake," she stood in the corridor now, a bright light emanated into the room, her white clothes blending perfectly into the pure hospital fluorescents, "May I recommend, that you put them in separate rooms overnight, I don't want my partners killing each other in the morning."

The sound of footsteps was the only inclination Tsunade have that the woman had left.

"Jeez, if that's their partner how strong are these two," Jiraiya asked uncomfortably.

"To be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure, … all three are truly amazing ninja."

"How so?" Jiraiya was clearly out of the loop so Tsunade didn't mind telling him.

"Auron has a mixed bloodline," Tsunade pointed out, "A combination of the two greatest Doujutsu users in the Country of Fire."

"The two greatest doujutsu users … GET OUT!" Jiraiya had begun by mumbling to himself but discovered his voice was raised when realisation hit him.

"He uses this ability to perfect his accuracy, he is one of the few ninja marksmen, …he has two revolvers which he uses to shoot either real bullets or pure chakra into his enemy."

"A gun fighter?"

Tsunade nodded.

"Auron is a swordsman, who wields the massive blade you saw"

"And carried!" Jiraiya pointed out aggressively, he wasn't going to forgive her anytime soon for that, that thing was easily five foot in length, maybe six with the handle, and had to be at least thirty centimetres wide. The blunt part of the blade was easily three of his Come Come paradise books thick. Simply put, it was heavy.

"He has several different nicknames you may have heard in your travels, the 'Invisible Ninja' is a popular one as he perfected a jutsu which even the Byakugan cannot see, or perhaps you know him as the 'Kamikaze Shinobi,' for his explosive shadow clones, or perhaps" "Tsunade swallowed long and hard, "…the 'Kyuubi Bunshin'."

Jiraiya's head looked down at the boy before him, the one whom he carried from the battlefield.

"…That's not possible."

And yet Jiraiya could clearly see now three barely visible whisker marks across the young man's cheeks.

'_Another Jinchuuriki? Of the Nine-Tails!? Impossible!'_

……………**-----------------------…………..**

The hotel room received a warm glow as sunlight shone brilliantly into the luxurious room. The hue of the room completely changed, the candles burned out as if automatically in the presence of the sun. Rather than the violent pink and purples that the room had taken on before, the room was now a gentle brown hue, only interrupted slightly by the colour of the deep red cushions and blankets which surrounded the two sleeping teens.

Hinata's first thoughts upon waking up was that her pillow was moving, pushing her head up and down slowly upon itself. Up … down … up …. down. Slowly opening her eyes she realised where she was. She squeaked as she shot upright only to realise that her hand still lay beneath his head. He rose slightly at this sudden movement and then fell again. He grunted quietly and began to roll his shoulders gently, licking his lips and half yawning.

'_He's waking up!…'_

Hinata took a moment to seriously consider her current predicament, … the boy was shirtless, lying in a pile of red, heart-shaped pillows and blankets, on top of a bearskin rug, in front of a fireplace, in a honeymoon suite, … with her!! … Hinata couldn't move, sheer terror had claimed her now! Hormones claimed her the night before! And terror was claiming her now!

She watched as various body parts began to stir, he opened his mouth and closed it a few times, he furrowed his brow.

'_Move ….. Move ….. MOVE!!!!'_

Quickly Hinata crawled toward the fireplace, leaning on her rear she pulled on her underwear beneath the bathrobe, which she was now thankful was quite short. She was about to reach for her brassiere when she realised that her robe had opened while putting on her panties, she quickly closed and tightened the rope around her waist when ….

"Hinata-Chan?"

She could feel it again, the urge to pass out, but it wouldn't come, god why wouldn't it come, the only situation she would ever want to leave with her crush and she couldn't faint.

"H-Hai, Naruto-kun?" he was definitely awake now, she 'daren't' turn around.

He chuckled softly "I remember that little finger prodding thing you used to do. Why do you do that?"

This was not the question she expected, he was looking at her from behind so her tightening her robe might have looked a little like her old habit, … she guessed. She felt ridiculous she was sitting directly in front of him, practically naked and he was asking about an old nervous habit she had lost a long time ago. She thought she had at least, she found herself mimicking it, just to see what it felt like.

'_What an odd question.'_

Steel grazed her neck, Hinata widened her eyes in shock, in his right hand Naruto was holding a Kunai at the left side of her neck. It shimmered slightly in the morning light. He pushed it backward against her skin, motioning for her to move.

It had been a distraction, the silly question. It had been to occupy her while he crawled closer and drew a weapon. She said nothing and closed her eyes as the brandished steel forced her to lay back on the bearskin rug, her long dark indigo hair flowing behind her.

"Spread out your arms," his voice was without the angry passion she remembered from the mountains, but she obeyed without hesitation, the blade still wavered dangerously at her throat. In a single movement he brought one leg over her body, resting his left knee against the side of her right thigh. His left elbow followed suit leaning down just above her right arm.

'_I'm being straddled!'_ she thought, annoyed by her own blush in this dangerous situation, eyes still closed.

His face was very close to her own, she could feel his breath against her chin, it by far overpowered the steel which was still threatening her neck.

"I have some questions," he said calmly, "I want you to answer me truthfully Hinata-chan, Okay?"

"…chan?" Hinata barely whispered.

"Okay!?" he said it a little louder than last time, demanding response.

"Hai," she opened her eyes slowly, silently thanking whatever spirit may or may not have been watching out for her that she had tightened her robe so well before this situation had occurred. He was about half an arms length away from her, steadied by his left arm.

"Why? … Why did you defect?"

"…na-naruto-kun…."

"Answer the question!"

She closed her eyes and turned her head away, it was quickly brought back again by a gentle stroke on the side of her neck with hard metal. She still couldn't look at him, so instead she looked at his bare shoulder.

"..ano… I wanted to change … I think…Taisan-sensei … helped me change, when h-he came here … I-…I"

She stole a glance back to him, he didn't look angry, no, not angry. Concerned. She returned to his shoulder

"… I came with him." She concluded.

"Why did he defect then?" he said this quickly, a little annoyed now.

"…I …I thought he defected at first … but…" She swallowed, slowly desperate for time to come up with a way out of this, "Tsunade said that, he was ordered to fake a defection, as a spy in the village."

"Why did baa-chan attack you guys then, huh?"

Hinata didn't have an answer for this, Tsunade had briefly tried to explain it to her, but she honestly couldn't recall the reason. She was too relieved that her sensei was still alive to really listen.

"I don't know …" she said truthfully.

Naruto was clearly not satisfied with this. Hinata gazed at him long enough to see him furrow his brow in annoyance and drift into thought for a moment, before attacking her again with another question.

"How did you get so strong!" he demanded.

Hinata face flushed a deeper shade of red, he had just acknowledged her strength. This went unnoticed by the male ninja.

"Answer the question!"

"… ano… I-I told you, I w-wanted to change, so I trained with T-Taisan-sensei,"

Hinata bit her lip as Naruto slightly adjusted his position over her bringing himself even closer down to her body, their hips were actually brushing against each other now.

'_He may as well be laying ON me!' _a frightened, but disbelieving voice cried in her mind.

"Why is he so strong?" Naruto didn't look at her as she said this, lost in thought.

………………………**----------------------------…………………..**

He was in pain, his tenketsu were almost all completely closed, he had a deep gash across his back and he was suffering from extreme exhaustion. All the same he ran for the castle. He burst through the large shrine doors, and deja-vu struck him like a train. Before him stood two men. One was covered in deep purple chakra, which seeped through his skin like boiling oil. His eyes were purple as well with deep slits. His cheeks had three embedded whisker marks which stained his face like scars. In one hand swirled a large ball of rotating chakra.

The other man, stood slightly taller, his long white hair flowed down his back in sharp scrunches, his skin was a dark grey colour, his teeth protruded in a vampire fashion and he had long sharp fingers which held a familiar lightning chakra which hummed like a thousand birds. His eyes though struck the young boy the most.

'_Impossible!'_

Each eye was a light pink colour, a very pale pink, and in a soft grey outline stood the iris with three light grey symbols creating an eye he'd seen only in three other men before. Hatake Kakashi. Uchiha Itachi. And Uchiha Sasuke. … The Sharingan.

……………**..--------------------------……………….**

Thankfully Hinata didn't seem to have to answer his last question. As he replaced it with another.

"Why did that guy have a curse seal …" Naruto muttered quietly to himself. Hinata wasn't sure if she was supposed to respond. Instead she looked at him in confusion.

"Who was that FUCKING guy?! And why did he have a FUCKING Curse Seal?!" He was yelling at her now, Hinata squealed in discomfort closing her eyes again, cringing.

He seemed to react to this, "Tell me!" his voice was calmer now but it was no less compelling.

"T-T-The man … his n-name is A-Auron-san … and he's T-Taisan-sensei's team mate…" Hinata stopped there, unaware that she hadn't fully answered his question.

"And …" he tried to help her, his voice was still menacing but it had lost its previous rage.

"…"

"You have one don't you?" Naruto's expression was a sorrowful and contemplative one. Hinata's was confused, she had no idea what a 'Curse seal' was, … other than that branch house members had them. She looked at his face again, almost seeing the gears turning in his head.

His eyes flashed open suddenly, excitement on his face, he was actually smiling.

"Where is Sasuke?" he demanded, the excitement was gone and replaced with his earlier demeanour.

'_This is an interrogation technique!'_

"..S-Sas….uke-san?"

He brought his face dangerously close now, his nose touched hers when he spoke, accusation and suspicion bounced readily in his expression.

"You got your curse seal from Orochimaru! That's how you've gotten so strong! That means you've seen Sasuke!" Hinata couldn't begin to try to decipher that sentence, she realised briefly how little she actually knew about Naruto's life.

'_Orochimaru ….curse seal ….'_

"E-eh?" she tried to smile thinking it might calm him down, she found it had the opposite effect.

"DON'T mess with me!" he was angry again, "Where is that BAKA Sasuke?"

"I-I don't know what y-you're talking a-about, Na-Naruto-kun."

"Roll over!"

"Eh?"

"Roll over!" he repeated twirling his left finger in the manner he intended. He was no longer holding himself up with his left hand, finding his knees and elbows did that for him when he was so close.

Slowly Hinata followed his request. He rose slightly to allow her space but kept the kunai close. It was probably the slowest she had ever turned in her life. She was confused, and now a little bit scared. This was far more serious than just embarrassment as she had originally feared.

He stroked her hair gently out of the way, before roughly pulling at the back of her robe.

"Wh-what are you doing!" Hinata's words were a mix of a shriek and a squeal, a funny combination Naruto had not heard from her before.

"Shush! A minute!"

After thoroughly checking her left shoulder and neck he turned to the right one pulling it down over her shoulder in the same rough fashion and began to check that one as well. Nothing. Smoothest skin he'd ever felt in his life, but definitely no curse seal.

Naruto grinned as he remembered another man he had fought with a Curse Seal, Kimimaro, … desperate for a clue to Sasuke he ordered without properly thinking.

"Roll over"

"a-ano, …. a-again?"

"Roll over!"

Again Hinata complied, even slower this time, readjusting her robe as she did so that it covered her shoulders once more. Once her arms were again spread at her sides, Naruto took no time reaching for her robe, he was about to pull it down in the same fashion as he'd done her shoulders when he found both arms being tightly gripped by the small woman he had been straddling. Hinata was not going to let him see her bra-less chest.

"I can't allow you to see there, Naruto-kun," her voice was determined and completely free of the usual stutter. Naruto tightened his legs grip on her thighs with his own, as he tried, to no avail to pull his wrists free. Hinata simply pushed down on a vein which numbed his fingers slightly.

"So you do have a curse seal HUH? Is it the Earth seal like that Kimimaro-BAKA."

He was angry again, but it didn't have the same effect on her this time, he'd gone too far.

"As a WOMAN, I can't allow you to see there, Naruto-kun," she repeated adding the first three words.

Naruto was dumbstruck for a moment. In his mind the person beneath him disappeared and was replaced by the extremely shy twelve year old he remembered her as. Her ears turned pink underneath her neatly cut blue hair, and her eyes looked away innocently. She smiled nervously and muttered a few inaudible syllables before turning back into the young woman with long dark hair, and determined eyes which looked at him in absolute confidence. Then his gaze wandered down to her chest, and his eyes widened in shock.

"Gomen, Hinata-chan, I-I wasn't thinking," Naruto smiled apologetically and opened his fingers in an attempted surrender.

"Th-that's alright, Na-Naruto-kun," Hinata had seen his eye movement, and although a little embarrassed, was briefly haunted by the realisation that Naruto hadn't even been thinking of her as a girl, … as a woman, until she had pointed it out. It was true she thought, the opposite to love was indifference.

"May I help you up, Hinata-chan?" Hinata looked up at him again with dreary eyes, it seemed odd that he would ask if she needed help, when his wrists were in fact trapped in her grasp.

She didn't say anything but released his hands all the same, standing and stepping backwards a few steps without his help. The boy's face was tinged slightly red as if only just having noticed her attire.

"I'm really sorry, Hinata, … I didn't mean to… I wasn't … I …Gomen," he decided was the only thing he could say and decided that the bear rug floor needed his utmost attention.

"It's alright, Naruto-kun," she stepped backward and away in a lazy fashion. As if still in a dream, now looking toward his feet, her confidence lost. "You thought I was the enemy."

"Hai! Right! But you're not! … Right?"

Hinata nodded her head slowly, refusing to look him in the eyes, realising that Naruto was having trouble figuring out what that meant she replied, "I'm not the enemy."

"Alright then … ano …" Naruto was embarrassed he'd never been in a situation anything like this before.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hai"

"I think … we should go see the H-Hokage"

"Err, why?"

"We need to see my sensei," Naruto mechanically agreed incapable of saying no after such an embarrassing situation, he didn't stop to consider why 'he' had to go to visit 'her' sensei … he would later decide it was for company.

"…, Hinata-chan?" Hinata blushed slightly, he'd used the Chan suffix a few times now, even while threatening her.

"H-Hai? Na-Naruto-kun" she was still painfully aware of her attire, and was now incredibly embarrassed by how short the robe fell, showing far too much of her legs.

"Errr …Where's my shirt?"

Hinata simply bit her lip, while the plastic residue of the shirt's Konoha emblem continued to melt in the fire.

……………**.-------------------------…………..**

**End Chapter 2**

……………**.----------------------…………………**

A/N

Dedications. (This whole fic will have references to one thing or another)

The bit where Hinata is telling herself to MOVE! Is directly from Sasuke in Naruto.

Jiraiya's sombre attitude through most of this chapter is all from his first meeting with Tsunade with Naruto, where he actually threatens to kill her if she betrayed the leaf. (you see where his thought pattern might have been going with this?)

The Ninja Know How, that's the stuff Sakura was talking about in the episode where she thinks Sasuke died … I think?

The entire scene with Hinata looking after an unconscious Naruto was based on another (crack) fanfiction where Hinata found an unconscious Naruto took him home and we don't find out what happens to him. This got me wondering what might, and that's how that whole scene came about.

The bit where Hinata asks Naruto to "let us fight .. honourably" is a quote from her fight with Neji, with the honourably added on at the end.

Hinata in the short 'shorty' robe (which she changes her mind on how much she likes), was a bit of a reference to Will and Grace.

And finally, the fight between the two men which Naruto witnessed, is an obvious reference to the Naruto-Sasuke fight with Rasengan-Chidori.


	3. Yuhi Kurenai

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**------------------……………..**

previously …

"Errr …Where's my shirt?"

Hinata simply bit her lip, while the plastic residue of the shirt's Konoha emblem continued to melt in the fire.

……………**------------------……………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 3: Yuhi Kurenai. Strawberries.**

……………**------------------……………..**

Miles of forest stretched endlessly before her. Trees. Shrubs. Vines. As if she was travelling through an infinite labyrinth of vegetation. The teams system had been abandoned due to impracticality. Instead the teams joined together with prisoners and injured, opting to travel as a group of eighty or more through the soft woodland. This was safer, it guaranteed no one got lost or injured in the unlikely event of ambush, but they were forced to move slowly and noisily through the bleak morning light. They had only set out a few hours ago, but now it was already dawn.

Well behind the schedule set by the self proclaimed 'Sexy Green Beast.' By this time they should have reached the halfway point, well within the borders of the Leaf Country. However, due to a few escapees and many brief pauses to reapply bandages, they were less than a tenth of the planned distance. No one was really concerned, Gai's schedule called for a flat out run, while carrying the civilian and injured. Instead they were walking as leisurely as they dared. Gai had more important matters to attend to than keeping to his own schedule.

"KAKASHI-SAMA! You have grown soft! Your 'Youth' is failing you!"

Gai's laugh echoed loudly through the forest terrain, his eyes alight with passion. Kurenai couldn't help but find the man both inspirational and insufferable, his strength and stamina was ... remarkable, and his dedication to his subordinates was … well … immeasurable. Yet his very presence tended to make her stomach turn in repulsion. She was sure it had something to do with his tights.

It was not one of Kakashi's proudest moments. As he clung pitifully against the chest of his tight wearing rival he continued to reread his dirty novel in his only good hand. It was difficult to tell if Gai's comments were getting through to him, he always seemed so depressed and bored anyway. It had been an eventful night to say the least. Travelling back with the injured and prisoners was an irksome task in itself, but having to deal with the loud … yet polite … revelling of the man beside her made it even more insufferable.

"Kakashi-Sama you should have seen yourself trying to take on ten of those Bunshin at once, it was …. pitiful!" Kurenai groaned loudly, she had almost thought he was leading toward a compliment, "I ESPECIALLY loved it when you thrust your 'Lightning Edge' into one and it EXPLODED on you!"

"So! Asuma!" attempting to distract herself, the nin glanced at her with feigned interest, "Has anyone shed any light on the situation?"

Asuma took a long drag from his cigarette before answering, "We're invading bastards, apparently!" she chuckled slightly but unease settled in when she realised he hadn't even smiled.

"AND THEN!" Gai's voice grew with his excitement, "When you tried to 'defend' one of the missing nin from that Head Hyuuga's little spat!" Gai laughed again childishly, "You're lucky he didn't kill you! Especially with that broken arm of yours!" he wasn't even trying to be quiet, instead he was purposefully gathering attention.

"We had to invade though didn't we? Asuma? Sand Intelligence found that they we're sharing techniques between the members, right? Forbidden ones, right?"

Asuma simply nodded, and took another deep breath from his cigarette.

"Well that settles it then," convinced she turned away. Trying not to think about whatever the man might have had on his mind.

"If there is ANYTHING I have learned from Neji!" It was turning into a lecture now …. "…it's that HYUUGA business is HYUUGA business," Gai ignored Kakashi's ribs to the chest as he used his same arm to point his book in Kurenai's direction, an understood warning which Gai missed, "And THEN when the REAL Taoru-san arrived using MY own 'Dynamic Entry' technique and defeated BOTH OF YOU!" Gai stopped walking for a moment to stare into the sun, tears rolling down his face, "I was so proud."

"Gai!" Asuma took an unusually serious tone for the second time on their journey, "Please be considerate of your team mates."

Gai blinked stupidly for a second then muttered a feeble, guilty "Hai!"

Kurenai knew he was referring to her. Mentioning Taoru in her presence had always been a forbidden practice among the three men. She could understand though, it was difficult not to talk about him when he was your enemy. The three men watched her silently from the corner of their eyes, pretending to gaze at the road ahead, gauging her reaction. She looked away, ashamed for what her eyes could show them. Pain. Hatred. Disgust. Emotion's her body refused to leave behind.

As her eyes wandered the crowd, they met with another woman's who must have been suffering similar pain. Instinctively, she zigzagged through the crowd to her side.

……………**.------------------------……………………**

"Hey! …. Hyuuga-chan!"

Neji looked up to the boy who dared add insult to injury. The orange clad boy had defeated him, he was slowly beginning to acknowledge that, but insulting him while he still lay injured on the battleground floor … was inexcusable.

"…who?"

The young man didn't answer, instead he gripped him tightly by the ankle and lifted him up. He hung upside down for a moment, his long black hair still touching the dirt floor. Still gripping his ankle, he swung him over his shoulder and headed for the exit, ignoring Neji's complaints as his head bumped noisily against a large sword. The medical nins shared peculiar facial expressions as he walked past them, as did the audience above.

"Such disrespect!"

"You can't really expect anything less from HIM!"

"Isn't that …. hmmm, … Still a Chuunin! No surprise there."

"Oi! Ain't that that guy who went did 'at ting to 'at girl when e' were a lad! Bloody disgrace e' is!"

"HEY! PUT DOWN NEJI-KUN THIS INSTANT!"

The loud girl's rant were casually ignored as he left with the young prodigy. The Sandaime Hokage smiled from his pedestal.

"Who is that man?" the Kazekage asked indifferently.

"A highly promising, but dangerous Konoha ninja!"

"He is a Chuunin?"

"Hai, he and one other team mate have yet to pass the third principle!"

The Kazekage chuckled softly, "That condition is most pointless, you realise? Surely you have passed others without it?"

"True I have, but I cannot risk passing these ones in particular, without proof they are mentally prepared! I made that mistake already, with one of my own subordinates." His voice was unusually hollow.

"Orochimaru-sama …?"

"…indeed."

The boy was thrust heavily onto the bed.

"What's your problem!" the boy analysed the teen in front of him, charging what was left of his chakra into his eyes, 16 years old, medium build, golden brown eyes, reasonably short dark-brown hair, slightly tanned skin. No other distinguishing features. He definitely hadn't spoken to him before. But he'd seen his face somewhere.

He wore a sleeveless black shirt underneath an unzipped navy jacket which had one long sleeve on the left arm, the other was bare. His undershirt was tucked into thick camouflage blue/purple trousers where his pack tied neatly as a belt between the two. Like his jacket, his right leg trouser was cut just below the knee while the right extended over his boot laces.

"Done looking at my feet? Neji-chan!"

Neji didn't answer.

"I despise bullies like you! Attacking someone's mentality, … using fears and insecurities against a person during a test to gain the advantage, … against a girl,… it's nothing less than the sick tactic of a playground bully! Neji-chan!"

"So … you were at the preliminaries?" Neji smiled cruelly.

He realised now that he had been watching during the preliminary matches. He had been unkempt at the time, likely he had also been in the forest of death. "You were an eliminator"

"Yes … what of it?"

"Tell your blonde friend he's sick!"

"Have a brush with Auron did we?" he smiled broadly, "I'm surprised he didn't fail you in the forest. Neji-chan!"

"Taoru-san!" the Chuunin turned expectantly as a older gentlemen entered the room through the door behind him.

"Hiashi-san, you're looking as pale as ever," Hiashi grimaced, this boy went all out to annoy him.

"I would like a word with Neji," Taisan looked between the two, an intense stare was shared between them, "Fine, I was on my way out anyway."

Before he left, he stopped to whisper in Neji's ear, "Wanna' make a little bet, Neji-chan?"

He didn't receive an answer so continued anyway.

"Three years! In three years I'll change her."

"That's not … a bet?" Neji whispered in confusion.

"Consider it a promise then, … if I fail, I'll stop calling you Neji-chan! Deal"

Still eyeing his uncle, Neji whispered, "Who?"

"I'll take that as a yes!" he wasn't whispering now, he'd already stood up and proceeded to brush past the man in the doorway. "GOODBYE! NEJI-CHAN!"

Neji was left alone with his uncle as the teen left the room, leaving behind nothing but a series of questions which the boy would give up answers to before long. His hatred for his uncle ran far thicker than a Chuunin with morality lectures.

…………**------------------…………….**

"That was childish! Taoru-san"

In the hallway stood the red clad woman, wearing her obscene makeup as usual. Taisan's voice immediately turned solemn.

"I've told you to call me Taisan," he eyed the floor in front of her as she glared at him.

"That's a name you use among friends, … I'm not your friend," her voice was more sober than usual, she wanted something.

"It's unusual for you to talk to me, especially alone like this. I presume you have a question," again his eyes just barely strayed from the floor before her, a good ten feet away.

Kurenai breathed through her nose deeply for a moment, "Stay away from my team!"

The sword on his back shook slightly. "… Pardon?"

"I've heard that you helped heal Hinata-san, after she was injured in the preliminaries!"

He smiled numbly, "That Hyuuga bully beat her up something tragic, … you're not upset I speeded up her recovery are you?"

Her eyes told him she was. "I have also heard that you have taken some special interest in her."

"Where would you hear a thing like that?"

"Stay out of my subordinates affairs!" her voice was stony and ebbed with anger.

He sighed, defeated, he couldn't lie outright.

"Let's be honest, Kurenai-sama. You're not the perfect teacher for this girl. She has special needs which can't be met in a three man team." he tried to say this delicately, he had no intention of insulting the Jounin before him.

"Stay out of my subordinates affairs!" her voice hadn't changed.

"I know you're not a big fan of mine, but it's really for her benefit"

"Your not safe!"

This brought up a new issue.

"I have always been 'safe!'" he looked at her directly now, she was slightly taller than he was.

"I heard your new girlfriend left you because she feared her safety!"

Taisan crossed his arms, and harshly pinched his chest, trying to maintain composure. "You saw to that!" he had heard enough now, and began walking toward and beyond the woman.

"I told her the truth," she tipped her head nonchalantly. Six feet.

"Your version of the truth!" neither blinked as they stared coldly into the others eyes.

Four feet.

"She must have already been suspicious if she left you, based on just that!"

Three feet.

"…you're just a playground bully too" he barely whispered.

Two feet

"Stop behaving like you're the victim here" she drew the word out slowly, making sure he understood them.

One foot.

Silence.

He stepped past her, leaving plenty of space between them.

One foot.

"If you interfere with her! I'll make sure she knows!" He stopped. Neither turned to look at each other.

"That … would be a waste of breath," a confident smile graced his lips, "I've given up trying to convince you of my innocence, Kurenai-san, … but luckily, … this girl … doesn't judge people … the way you or Anko do."

When the red eyed woman turned around to retort, he was already gone, a smoky cloud in his wake.

"Bastard!" telling the young girl probably wouldn't change anything, … but she'd try anyway.

…………**..-------------------…………….**

"Ano … Where's my shirt?" the blonde searched the room anxiously, paying no heed to the blushing girl as she silently sped into the bathroom.

'_Well there's my jacket at least.'_

Stepping over to the fireplace he lifted the warm material from over the metal grate. Disappointed that his favourite black shirt was not beneath it, he presumed Tsunade had taken it off to heal him of any scathes he'd taken on during the campaign. Naruto stared dumbly into the fireplace as he pulled on his orange and black jacket. It wasn't much of a fire now, just a small pile of white logs with a few flames smouldering on their edges.

"Huh?"

His thoughts were distracted as something scratched the back of his neck, he grabbed it automatically and attempted to bring it into view. Realising it was somehow caught onto his back he reached behind him with his left hand to remove it, still pulling at it with his right. After a few moments of awkward fiddling the thing came loose and he pulled it over his head and held it in the air triumphantly.

"SUCCESS!"

His brow creased as he tried to determine what the bizarre thing was from the peculiar angle he had set up. It was white? And soft and had some metal in it. He brought it down to his eye level and stretched it out across his two arms.

"… This is!!!" his eyes widened in alarm.

…………**..---------------------………………**

A bathroom is a place where someone goes to think. At the missing village, it was one of the few places where Taisan would never dare tread should she be in there. She found it most relaxing, they were always quiet. Tended to be decorated in soft white colours. And usually smelt like flowers. These things however did nothing for her now. She was completely and totally overwhelmed. It was too much. Far, far, FAR too much. She couldn't begin to describe the mixture of horror, pleasure, panic, warmth, depression, fear and anticipation she had felt within those moments. The young girl leaned heavily against the door, still tightly gripping her short robe. Her breaths were hard and heavy. Slowly she slipped down the door, extending her legs along the tiled floor. One leg was bent to steady her head as she leaned against it.

"na…naruto-kun," the words were for her own benefit.

'_What would he have done … if I hadn't stopped him,'_ she hated herself for thinking this, as it immediately gave her a mental image of the boy in the next room. Disgusted and disappointed, … by the mere sight of her.

…………**..------------------…………..**

The blonde shinobi stared down at the brassiere in his hands, with two very LARGE cups in between the thin lacy material. His thumbs stroked the material absently, admiring the softness.

"NANI!?!?!?"

Horrified by his own actions he attempted to throw the piece back onto the fireplace grate, only to have its hooks embed in his right jacket sleeve. He flailed his arm wildly, hoping it might help.

"GET OFF OF ME!!!"

With his final command he ripped at the garment with his left hand and accidentally threw it into the fire, unbeknownst to him, atop the remains of his black shirt. The fire rekindled immediately in a blue-green blaze as if taunting him. Irony was indeed a bitch.

…………**..------------------……………..**

"…naruto-kun," she sighed, she was beginning to breathe a little slower now. She could hear him in the next room, she turned her head slightly to stare at the edge of the doorframe. He was ………..yelling …….. about something. She smiled. That was how she remembered him, loud and noisy, the hyperactive ninja of Konoha. Number One at surprising people. She couldn't interpret his muffled shouts and instead, after a quick, accidental glance at the mirror above her, chose to get dressed. The robe she wore was far lower cut than she had realised. As much as she loved bathrooms, she would never like the mirror in this one.

…………**..------------------…………….**

Naruto had not forgotten his recent skirmish with the white brassiere. He was still trying to come up with a way to bring it up without sounding like a hentai **(pervert)**.

'_Hey, you're gonna laugh at this but, I kinda found your bra and threw it in the fireplace. Strange huh?'_

'_Hey, have you ever considered going to a protest, you know picket fences, marches bra burning that kinda' thing ...'_

'_Hey, ….ano … yourboobsaresobigitsscaryandIthrewyourbrainthefireplace!'_

Evidently this was not a productive area of inner discussion. Yawning and rubbing his stomach thoughtfully, he headed toward the refrigerator. It was a small one which sat just beside the bed, raised on a small pedestal, making it about the same height as the mattress.

'_Convenient!' _

Opening the door with a soft squeak he began thumbing through the many different foods and drinks inside. Immediately disappointed by what was not there … ramen! There was Champagne though. Lots of it! Four bottles or so lined the bottom shelf. Further up there were two white spray containers which read 'WHIPPED CREAM' in italic red markings.

'_Huh?' _

Curious he sprayed a small amount onto his fingertips and gingerly tasted it.

'_This is GOOD!'_ he promptly pulled the containers out and laid them on the bed.

Behind them he found a single chocolate bar, it was triangular shaped and had a small picture of a mountainside on it.

'… _not for breakfast._'

He removed it from the fridge all the same and pocketed it. Unfazed that it was now the only thing in his trouser pockets. On the next shelf was a small variety of fruits. Cherries, grapes, blueberries, a mango, and some bananas. His eyes widened in pleasure when his fingers held a small plastic box of strawberries.

'_Time to eat!'_ he mused as a grin spread deviously across his face.

……………**----------------------…………….**

Hinata's tongue brushed the final tag and stuck it down systematically on her left wrist. She was fully dressed now except for her torn jacket which she tied around her waist.

'_Ok, … now I just have to go back in there.' _

She raised her arm as if to slide the door across, but instead held it outstretched for a moment. She mentally practiced her lines.

'_No, Naruto I don't know where your shirt is. Lets find the Hokage now,'_ and then they'd leave, find Tsunade, who would be in her office waiting for them. Give a report. Go home and no one will remember a thing, ….. 'especially' Naruto. Hinata was confident the last part of her plan was very unlikely but she hoped she could get through the first part. Or at least get her crush out of this hotel suite, she wasn't sure what he might be thinking in the next room among the heart shaped pillowcases and erotic candles. She slid the door open slowly, only a hairline crack, she peered through the gap. She couldn't see him from this angle. She stepped back from the door, and breathed in again.

'…_move…move! Move!'_

…………**-------------------……………….**

Naruto had been quite happily devouring his strawberries, when a loud noise behind him demanded his attention. Partially choking in surprise he turned to see the bathroom door slide open loudly and Hinata burst into the room.

"Naruto-kun! I don't-know-where-your-shirt-is-and-I-think-we-should …" the words were rushed and frantic, but trailed off toward the end.

"HEY HINACHA! SCHTRAWBERRRIESH!" she stopped still for a moment as the blond shinobi held out a modest box of red strawberries. His lips were painted white while some red strawberry juice dribbled down his chin. Hinata blinked taking in the sight, then stifled what could very nearly have been an audible giggle. Naruto wiped his chin on his sleeve, removing the stain.

Deciding that Tsunade could wait a few more minutes, Hinata stepped across the room and stood against a wall between the door and the blonde teen. She played with her hair uneasily.

Still intent on eating his prized find, Naruto couldn't help but look over at the kunoichi as she stood there. She had grown. She was a fair bit taller than he remembered. Maybe only half a head shorter than himself. Her face was still very pale but it was a little bit of a different shape, sort of longer he guessed, or maybe it was an illusion created by her long blue hair and the two locks which fell against her cheeks.

She was wearing a mesh undershirt, much like a lot of the kunoichi in Konoha. Over that she had a black short sleeved training shirt which exposed her right shoulder. Her pants looked like some kind of strong cotton material and clung tightly to her legs. Several ninja bandages wrapped around each leg no doubt with small weapons or utensils hidden within. The pants stopped a little below her knee revealing her ankle which each had a small tag stamped on them. There were two on her wrists as well now that he thought about it. He noticed the jacket she had worn the night before was now tied around her waist by the sleeves. ….

The night before...

She had been so different then. She was strong, and fearsome. He had genuinely feared for his life. It had been so depressing to see her that way. But now, … she stood much more like the girl he had remembered, older and different, but a little … less different. He could still recognise her nervous sideways glance, but she wasn't hunched over anymore, everything she did, she did with more confidence. Naruto mulled on these thoughts briefly before turning back to his sweets.

…………**----------------……………**

The sun had long since risen high in the sky. Noon. They were moving at a faster pace now, allowing the seriously injured to stay behind, while those with minor injuries …prisoner and ally alike… continued on. Aside of course from a few Jounin who were to escort the others at the slower pace.

Anko was dragging a very impetuous Missing-nin by a short chain attached to his neck, mercilessly dragging him through the undergrowth. Kurenai had her own prisoner, however he was much more reasonable, opting to run just a few steps beside her.

"IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!"

"Yes! I know!" Anko smiled mischievously at her new pet.

"Anko-san?" Kurenai's tried to raise a new subject.

"Hai?!?"

"IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!"

"…about Taoru-san… I…" attempting to bring it up was more difficult than she'd expected.

"I don't wanna; talk about that now!" she feigned a mischievous pout.

"… I see … but, … did you see him?"

"IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU"

"... Not the real him no, I ran into a few Bunshin of him, but not the real him," she looked away while her voice turned sombre, stroking a deep cut in her leg, "… They definitely recognised me though!"

…………**.------------------……………….**

"Are you alright? Anko-san!"

"Fine, it's nothing. Really!" he wasn't convinced, "Why? Were you hoping to kiss it better?"

The boy blushed frantically, being alone with this woman was dangerous. She removed her jacket provocatively.

"Anko-san, I think you might be suffering dementia!"

It had been little short of a miracle they had found the cave before the down pour. No less a miracle than him finding her in the middle of the Second Chuunin test, suffering a shoulder wound before the tigers had gotten to her. He'd attempted to heal it best he could but he wasn't a medical ninja, all he could really do was apply chakra to it and accelerate the natural regeneration. Now they were together in a very small cave, in what was perhaps one of the most dangerous of the Konoha forests. In spite of this, she was attempting to seduce him.

"Don't be nervous Taisan! I'll guide you through it"

"Through …. what?" Her body was pushing menacingly against his own as she held him against the cavern wall. She smiled mischievously.

"Oh? … This is gonna' be fun, yeah?" without hesitation she brought her lips to his own, tongue already tracing the outline of his clenched teeth.

Taisan stood immobile as the woman lost consciousness and fell to the floor. He dropped to the ground, breathing heavily, sweat glistened on his brow. He spent the night in the rain, using his large sword as a windbreaker. He couldn't leave if she was injured, but he certainly wouldn't sleep in the same cavern with her.

………**..---------------……………**

"SO? You're lips are naturally poisoned! Huh?"

Taisan was caught. She'd found him again in the Forest's main tower. Team Sujin had been temporarily sent into the forest when reports of Orochimaru had come to the Kage's attention. His team mates stayed in the forest, and after bringing Anko in he had planned to return to the forest to begin his duties. Anko, seemed to have finished her explanation to the Kage earlier than he'd thought and found him again.

"Not exactly, …ano, it's more a natural defence mechanism of my body than a poison…" the 16-year-old shinobi continued to make up an elaborate lie, the idea of this being a bloodline limit seemed to impress her, "… kinda more like a Genjutsu."

"Fine" she crossed her arms and nodded in acknowledgement, "We'll just have to do this without your lips."

Gripping his wrist she dragged him into the next room, the boy was helplessly dragged along. Despite his muffled protests, the boy did not leave the room a virgin.

……………**.-----------------……………..**

"IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!"

"SHUT UP! BAKA!" Anko no longer attempted to hide her impatience, "I'LL CUT YOU UP GOOD YOU LITTLE SHRIMP!"

The small ninja was whipped violently by the twigs Anko pulled his chain into.

"Anko …" Kurenai again tried to make conversation.

"Kurenai-san, I don't want to talk about it," her voice was solemn as she continued to drag the red-headed boy behind her, "He isn't important to me anymore, he never was, he was just …. there, … ya' know."

She smiled again, urging her fellow shinobi to understand, "When it comes right down to it, I'm … pretty sure I … used … him."

Kurenai didn't wish to hear any more of this, the idea of Toaru as someone to be used, as a victim, was not how she knew him. It could never be. Not after …

"_STOP!"_

_Heavy breathing._

"_GET AWAY FROM ME!"_

_It stepped closer daringly, a horrible incarnation of Chakra. The light of the world seemed to be sucked into it as it stood ominously above the bathhouse water._

"_GET AWAY!"_

The two women spent the remainder of the journey in silence. Each thinking about their relative demons.

…………**----------------…………….**

The sword wielder's eyes slowly opened in the fluorescent glow of the midday sun, which glared cruelly through the hospital window.

'_I remember …. fire …. blood … … betrayal? ….. Did I break my promise?'_

As he slowly sifted through his thoughts he found his wrists and ankles had been tightly strapped with leather belts to the bed.

'Well this sure feels familiar … is Anko here?' he chuckled slightly at the thought and found it a little painful to do so. Turning his head he spotted a large billboard which had been set up just outside his window. It read in aggressive black font …

'STAY AND REST. TSUNADE.'

He found many similar messages posted on his bedside table and painted on the ceiling.

'_Doctors orders … I guess.'_ Without further thought he slipped back into sleep.

…………**----------------…………….**

**End Chapter 3**

…………**----------------…………….**

a/n

I'm not dissing Anko in any way here, this is just my interpretation of her. Since I'm really trying to avoid doing a lemon in the main story I didn't go into detail. Of course if anyone wants me to you can request in the reviews bit.

This chapter is really about Kurenai and Anko, and their relationship to Taisan. The Naru-Hina-ness will come later I promise. But setting up my characters is important too unfortunately.

dedications:

There is a quote from Futurama in this one, although not exact, if anyone thinks they can find it I'll be surprised.

The usage of strawberries in this one was dedicated to another Naruhina fic I liked which should be in my favourites.

The chocolate bar if anyone couldn't tell was a Toblerone, but I'm not sure if they'd have that in the 'Naruto universe.'


	4. Exhaustion

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

previously…

'STAY AND REST. TSUNADE.'

He found many similar messages posted on his bedside table and painted on the ceiling.

'_Doctors orders … I guess.'_ Without further thought he slipped back into sleep.

……………**.--------------------………………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 4: Exhaustion!!!**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

The candle's of the shrine blazed furiously … in the presence of a monster.

It was beyond human comprehension, its anger fuelled the livid dance of the candles. Evil intentions … unmistakable. The dark slits of its eyes bore into her, while the purple flames which engulfed its body flailed wildly. She had never seen her sensei so … deadly.

It mumbled passionately but threateningly, "**HINATA! … …. kill me." **

……………**.--------------------………………..**

"Hinata!"

"G-gomen … Naruto-kun."

The pleasant aroma of the suite returned to her nostrils as she awakened from a disturbingly vivid memory.

'_He asked me to …' _

Naruto sat cross-legged on the novelty shaped mattress, staring curiously at the Hyuuga-hime. She blushed from the attention and turned away quickly, causing her long dark hair to wrap around her neck, as if protecting her from his gaze.

"I apologise … Naruto-kun, … I was daydreaming," she left the hair where it lay and turned her eyes to the blonde, "Have you … ano… finished?"

"Huh? OHH! Not yet, dattebayo. This white stuff is REALLY good though! You should try it!" without further delay he stepped down from the mattress, strawberries in tow, and took three daring steps towards her. "Here! Try it!"

"Naruto-kun?" her mind considered what the strawberries in a honeymoon suite were _probably_ intended for.

The world around her blurred briefly. She was once again in the short suite robe, lying with her back against the soft mattress. The blonde shinobi held her down between his thighs as he had done earlier that morning. Instead of the blade he had held then, now he held a single cream covered strawberry.

"Hinata-chan?" his voice was seductive and beckoning.

She saw herself blush and smile timidly as he placed the fruit in his own mouth and lowered it down for her. She saw the moment their lips briefly touched as she bit into the strawberry and savoured its pleasant taste.

"…N-Naruto-kun."

Slowly he began to untie her robe.

"HINATA!!"

The world broke away into millions of mirrored fragments.

'_Another daydream? Wait … m-my mouth?' _

"Hinata … eat!"

"What?" her white pupil-less eyes were still glazed and confused.

"Eat!" the blond held her jaw and slowly tried to invite her to chew and swallow. "C'mon! You have to eat"

She was still leaning against the wall. Her legs had bent slightly and it was a little harder to steady herself. Small, short breaths escaped her occasionally. Naruto knelt in front of her, holding her shoulder against the wall with his left hand, in case she should fall again. He used his bent right leg to balance the bowl of strawberries, still covered in white foam. He watched her intently as she slowly chewed and swallowed the strawberry. She looked back at him with half open unblinking eyes. He promptly took another berry and delicately placed it in her mouth.

"C'mon! Chew, it's good!"

Blood began to return to her face, Naruto sighed in relief as she swallowed again. Taking out another strawberry for her.

"You really had me worried there!"

She couldn't speak as he pushed another strawberry between her lips.

"You can't have eaten in a while, eh? To almost faint like that," he loosened his grip on her shoulder slightly making her slide down the wall to his eye level.

No response. Again some gentle persuasion forced another strawberry into her mouth.

"Heheh! You looked really funny a second ago. You should have seen yourself."

She blushed, she couldn't remember anything except her daydream, which she hastily decided to store in long term memory. She could only imagine it was why she had blacked out.

"I guess you must'a been tired from all that fighting last night, eh? You should have said if you were hungry"

'_C-Could that have been it. I was hungry. M-maybe that's why … yes … I was hungry … last night … I ran a l-long way too… y-yes, I was hungry …. that's all … it makes sense … I kissed him because … I was hungry …' _

Her thoughts couldn't deny that it made 'some' sense. She had fainted twice now, she acknowledged she was exhausted although she couldn't really feel it anymore and she couldn't really remember when she last ate. Though the idea that she kissed him because she was hungry didn't strike her as very … romantic.

'_I wasn't trying to eat him … I wasn't trying to eat him,' _she reassured herself.

Her mouth opened slightly as the boy raised another strawberry from the bowl, pleased that she no longer needed convincing. She smiled gratefully.

'_I … did 'that,' … because …'_

…………**---------------……………**

"Hinata! You're staring into space again!" the sword wielder wasn't amused. The thirteen-year-old had been doing it much more often lately.

"G-Gomenasai, … I was … just…"

"Thinking?" he offered.

"Hai!" she nodded and returned to her book, it was a detailed and extremely difficult explanation of chakra flow through the coils. He'd suggested she read it before he start training her chakra control. She ducked behind the book slightly hoping to avoid his stare from across the table.

He sighed audibly. "You don't have to tell me what you're thinking about, but can I suggest something?"

She peered over the book at the young man. He was barely seventeen years old but already had taken the replacement role of her father. His short dark brown hair curled slightly at the tips, his golden brown eyes continued to browse his own book nonchalantly.

"Write about it!"

"P-pardon?"

"Write about it," he stated it as though it were the most obvious explanation in the world. Seeing her tilted head he realised it was not, "Whatever you're thinking about, this thing you keep zoning out on, every time you think about it, go and write."

This wasn't much of an explanation, "Ano, …wr-write what?"

"Anything. How you feel, your opinions, how you could do something, what 'it' looks like. Anything you want. Every time you think about it. Go write about it. I give you permission."

"Ano … e-e-even during training?"

He thought for a moment before replying, "It's better than you looking into space every fifteen minutes."

Taisan smirked. Truthfully he had no idea if this was going to help anything. He hoped that eventually whatever, … or more likely whoever, she was thinking about, would lose its appeal when she was made to run and write about it every time she had a passing thought.

Unfortunately the plan backfired miserably. Every session of training they had planned for the next few weeks was momentarily paused as she apologised and fled to her room to update her already thirty page essay. At least those were the pages he saw piled on her desk, he wouldn't dare look in any of the drawers. Originally he ignored it, hoping she might eventually run out of things to write. Or at least run out of paper. If anything the intervals between her mysterious trips to her desk were closing.

"Hinata?"

"Yes?" she had been just about to apologise for leaving during training when he cut her off.

"I've been thinking about this writing thing? It's safe to say you're writing about someo'ONE', right?"

Her complexion reddened immediately. "You…y..y-you've been reading it?"

"No, call it a lucky guess if you like. Anyway this … person, won't be too happy if you're not any stronger when you see them again. So …" the sword-wielder had no intention of admitting his writing suggestion was a bad idea, "Instead of writing about them, … every time you think of them, … maybe just write a letter to them, and update it each night. That way you're still writing, sort of to them, but you're not missing out on training. Yeh?"

He waited cautiously for her response.

"Y-you think, they'd be g-glad to see me … stronger?"

"I think everybody is waiting to see you become stronger," he flicked her forehead delicately and smiled, "… and maybe when you see this boy … It is a 'boy' right?"

She blushed again and nodded.

"Well, maybe you could give it to him?"

She blushed again a little redder.

Hinata never threw away what she had written. Instead she read through it and picked out the things she liked and what she didn't, trying to figure out what she could possibly say. Taisan had been kept back with the Village leaders who wanted to talk to him about 'something'. So she had the room to herself to write her letter. She took a deep breath and then began. Over time the letter changed and adapted depending on her mood at the time. Sometimes it was filled with confessions. Sometimes it was full of praise. On a few occasions it was bitter and jealous. But the undertone was always written with great admiration. As she got older, the content evolved in ways her younger self would easily have fainted from. But it was still innocent …'sort of' … and always began the same way.

'Dear Naruto….'

…………**.-------------------………………**

Feeding the pale girl quickly became a comfortable rhythmic pattern. She still felt very cold and limp but was definitely regaining some composure. Enough he felt for her to answer a few nagging questions.

"… Hinata?" he smiled in good nature, she hmmm'd between unenthusiastically slow bites.

"Umm … how long have you been a missing-nin?" his question was aimed more toward her mouth than herself.

She shook noticeably, and scratched the wall behind her with her fingernails.

"I …. I …well …" she swallowed though she hadn't been eating at that moment. Naruto held a strawberry in front of her as if tempting her to continue, "I left just a few days after you did, with Taisan."

He didn't wait a second before continuing "You didn't like Konoha?"

"Of course I did, I loved Konoha!" she spoke louder than she thought she would, but it was still barely above a whisper.

"… Then … why?"

"… I … I … wanted to … ch-change?" she questioned her own motives for a moment. Naruto was visibly evaluating the situation, placing the strawberry in her mouth.

He looked back at her with great determination "In that case I can't let Tsunade lock you away!"

She couldn't respond still chewing the strawberry.

"Anyone who wants to make themselves better, with good intentions, is ok with me. Even if you did choose a stupid way to go about it," He struggled for a moment on the good intentions part, thinking of a former team mate, "We'll just have to take you somewhere other than Konoha, when I get back I'll explain the situation and MAKE Tsunade-baachan forgive you."

"But … Naruto-kun…." he ignored her, far too rapt in his own plan.

"Or we can take you back to Konoha now, and you could be undercover for a while. You can stay at my house!" she warmed at the thought of living with her idol.

"n-naruto-kun … we're already in Konoha …"

A few moments of silence passed until...

"NANI!!! HOW? WHY? WHEN?"

"a-ano …. you were unconscious … we came back with the Hokage and Jiraiya-sensei."

"HOW LONG WAS I ASLEEP?!"

"… just overnight," as she ended her revelation another strawberry was delicately placed in her mouth, his thumb brushed her lip accidentally. Naruto seemed oblivious but she smiled at the connection, while her ears turned pink.

"… but … it took us two days to get there …" he laughed a little, "Baa-chan and Ero-sennin really are amazing to carry us all the way here."

She wanted to correct him, but chose to bite her lip.

"So how come they didn't take you to jail or anything?"

Still being fed the red fruit, the girl attempted to explain that the entire defection had been a mission from the Hokage, although she admitted she didn't know why. After a while she was forced to explain anything she knew from start to finish. All the while the orange clad ninja knelt before her, taking in every word, only interrupting her with creamed strawberries every minute or so. She hoped he understood the situation a little more than she did. She could see his jaw tighten every time she mentioned the Hokage. Tsunade was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

………………**.------------------------………………**

"Let me sleep already!" the Hokage's whines went unheard as Shizune continued to pile sheets of paper under her nose.

Each brown report paper was headed with a different question about the current state of affairs. It had taken two hours to explain to Shizune the events of the night before and even longer to explain the secret mission between herself and Taoru. Now in the spacious luxury of the Hokage office she was forced to print every detail of the mission, the battle and the ninja that she knew had been wounded or killed the night before. To make matters worse, Shizune had compiled a report of her own on the surprise attack on Konoha during her absence. It was now noon and Shizune showed no sign of relenting. Her comforting smile masked her naturally demanding demeanour. She had been furious with her sensei. She had lied to her, and sent a ninja on a mission which marked him as a missing-nin. It was a political nightmare. Fixing the damage could take years, right now the highest priority was making sure the Country of Wind never found out about it.

"Tsunade-sama! You still haven't written the report on the Sand intervention?" her friendly smile was undeniably pure etiquette.

"I told you already … (yawn) … they attacked the village from the west and suffered mass casualties …" she whined.

"That's not good enough, it has to be written in report status and then triplicated for the Anbu, elite Jounin and village elders" her matter-of-fact tone annoyed the Godaime to no end.

Shizune continued her lecture which tended to list the things Tsunade had yet to report on. The lazy blonde's eyes drifted to her sleeping comrade on the couch opposite.

'_Lucky perverted bastard.'_

"Tsunade-sama! The medical squad want to know how far away Konoha's army should be by now?"

"Eh ….?"

"The medical squad I sent out," she repeated, "they want to know how far away they should expect the Konoha ninja to be"

"Don't call them an army, they're ninjas, not soldiers."

"… Well how far are they?"

"How should I know?" she yawned.

Shizune slammed her fist on the desk, startling her teacher, "Because it's your responsibility!"

"Fine, fine, … hmmm, I suppose they're about half way here, maybe closer if they avoided delays." Tsunade sometimes wondered who was actually running Konoha, her or her student.

"But …" Shizune changed her tune fairly quickly, struggling to give the older woman a compliment, "…hmmm, you really are amazing to have made it here in less than six hours aren't you?" Shizune smile was filled with pride.

"Not really," Tsunade clasped her hands in thought, "If anything I think I slowed his student down …"

The dark haired woman remained silent for a moment.

Tsunade took this opportunity to go over one of the first reports she had written that day.

'Nawaki Taoru, Kamana Auron, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata. Were the only Konoha Ninja found in the main castle shrine. Each severely injured. Only the latter retained consciousness enough to leave the monastery. Nawaki Taoru suffered a self induced injury leading to a temporary coma moments after the assassination of Sarushoi 'Rokudaime' Roa, the sixth Tsuchikage. Kamana Auron lost consciousness due to sustained injuries assumed to be from battle with Nawaki Taoru, his confession before losing consciousness is noted on page 89 of Criminal case #2453. Awaiting his consultation to sustain his evidence. Uzumaki Naruto lost adequate consciousness before Godaime's arrival. His injuries were numerous and believed to be from a combination of conflicts throughout the incident. Injuries consisted of chakra induced burns, closed Tenketsu, blade wounds and fractured ribs. Wounds healed naturally. Hyuuga Hinata's injuries consisted of chakra induced burns, none of which were very serious and some scratches and bruises. Medical squads healed the worst of these. Details of her assistance in evacuation efforts are listed in section 13 of evacuation reports under 'INCIDENT.'

"What happened in the shrine?"

Tsunade's revision was interrupted by a very blunt and concerned question. Looking up at Shizune she saw that this was not something she was thinking of writing down, it was genuine apprehensive curiosity. Although, knowing her student as she did, it would be written down eventually.

"I don't know," she spoke slowly and quietly, "We have to wait until they wake up … Speaking of which?"

Shizune stumbled for a moment "… ohhh … ummm …heheh," she laughed awkwardly, "Auron is unconscious still …"

"And the others?"

"Well I can't find Hinata or Naruto …. she wasn't at the Hyuuga estate, and his house was sold not too long after he left with Jiraiya," she motioned to the dozing hermit," So we have no idea where he would have gone,… heheh as for Taoru … well, I haven't ….really …. checked … yet …"

Tsunade eyebrow twitched slightly. "Why?"

"….."

"You read Auron's confession right?"

"It's nothing to do with that … I just … can't imagine him being … happy to see us," it was a poor choice of words but it got the point across.

"You think he'll feel betrayed by his country. Right?"

Shizune nodded in an awkward response. Tsunade breathed deeply.

"In that case I order you to find Taoru and make sure he feels welcomed and is praised as a hero, … by whatever means necessary." She opted an authoritative tone, one Shizune couldn't turn down.

"Hai!" the young woman saluted timidly. "…wait … whatever means necessary?"

"He's an eighteen year old kid, use your imagination."

Shizune opened her mouth to object when Tsunade redirected the subject.

"Speaking of which, what do you mean you can't find Naruto or Hinata?" she smiled a little cheekily.

"… what do YOU mean 'speaking of which'?"

The blonde Hokage spun in her chair slightly and raised her hand to her chin, closing her eyes in a pose which declared deep thought in loud neon lights.

"Nothing, just go see if Taoru's conscious, yes?"

"HAI!" In a puff of smoke Shizune disappeared from the room.

"I thought she'd never leave" the Hermit spoke up from his sleeping position, eyes still closed.

"Meh, she can be like that."

"At least now I can get some proper sleep, … there's plenty of room on the couch if your interested." Though his face was covered by a large cushion Tsunade could tell he was smiling in a perverted and indecent way.

Tsunade mulled the thought in her head for a lot longer than she had expected before responding in a totally professional voice, "Sorry, I have a lot of work to do."

"Prude."

"Pervert."

Without delay Tsunade rested her head in her folded arms and fell asleep. What her student didn't know couldn't hurt her after all.

…………**..----------------------………………..**

"YAHOO!!! C'MON Y'ALL FASTER! I'M STARVING HERE!"

'…_So we have reached the halfway point, had we left the missing nin, we could have been here at least six hours earlier.'_

'_Where the hell is Naruto? Shannaro, he's not dead already is he?'_ "BE QUIET KIBA! THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE NOT TIRED IS BECAUSE YOU'RE RIDING AKAMARU"

"That is true." The cloaked boy spoke softly

"HEY!! Don't blame me just cos' you all are so freakin' slow."

"Shannaro! We're not slow!"

"… Unlike yourself, we are escorting the injured."

"You know I ain't letting no one never touch Akamaru right?" the rowdy dog ninja barked in indignation.

"… Then don't complain … If you refuse to help …" Shino stated calmly.

'_Where is that idiot?'_ Sakura's thoughts drifted as the two boys continued a dead argument.

She hadn't seen him in two years, and the first time she got a chance to talk to him, they had already been called out on border related business. She'd seen him amongst the warring ninja occasionally. It was hard to miss twenty identical ninja's wearing bright orange jumpsuits. But she hadn't been able to find him in the aftermath.

'_There's no way he's dead, SHANNARO-OO, … I'LL KILL HIM MYSELF FOR MAKING ME WORRY!'_

……………**.--------------------………………..**

**End of Chapter 4**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

a/n

There's a tiny quote from the Lion King in there, I don't know how it got in there but it got in there.

If anyone needs a vision of how Hinata's daydream went it was probably the same as Sakura's from the anime about Sasuke in the third episode? Just imagine that weird background music.

In case anyone can't tell Sakura has been absorbed into team 8 with Shino and Kiba, it just seemed like a natural decision. Obviously she has received training from Tsunade also.


	5. Shizune

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

_previously…._

She hadn't seen him in two years, and the first time she got a chance to talk to him, they had already been called out on border related business. She'd seen him amongst the warring ninja occasionally. It was hard to miss twenty identical ninja's wearing bright orange jumpsuits. But she hadn't been able to find him in the aftermath.

'_There's no way he's dead, SHANNARO-OO, … I'LL KILL HIM MYSELF FOR MAKING ME WORRY!'_

…………**..-----------------……………**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 5: Shizune. My Personal Nurse.**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

"You think everyone'll be surprised to see us?"

The blonde spoke loudly as the two walked through the vacant street. It was just beginning to get dark now. Hinata's explanation had taken much longer than either of them had expected. It hadn't helped that he'd constantly interrupted with disbelieving gasps and curious questions, nor that he was continually trying to feed her strawberries every few minutes, still convinced she was about to keel over. She'd been far too shy to object, plus she had deeply enjoyed the attention. They had spoken for hours and only just left the suite to walk casually toward the Hokage's office. The innkeeper had given Hinata a mischievous wink as she left, making her blush and timidly force her oblivious companion into the street.

"Where is … everyone?" she'd paused midway, but definitely hadn't stuttered, a definite improvement she decided.

"I dunno …" the blond shrugged, "Probably still haven't made it back yet, … it's pretty hard for anyone to get back in a day."

She blushed at what may have been an accidental compliment, even if he didn't know she'd carried him.

"Tell you what though!" he held his fist aggressively, "I'm gonna give that old granny a piece of my mind!"

The Hyuuga heir smiled timidly. He'd been very protective of her. He hadn't been at all afraid to express his apparent distaste for Tsunade's 'secret mission.' Several of the words he'd used to describe her she would never dare say in public. She marvelled at how differently he was acting from the night before. He'd come at her with every intention to kill, but now he was walking casually beside her, as he would a good friend. She was also grateful that he had never asked anything about the hotel suite or the events within it. It seemed he'd completely forgotten.

"… it's unusual though, isn't it? There's no one here at all." she pondered aloud.

"Meh, Tsunade-baachan sent out pretty much every ninja she could."

"…Why?"

The boy muttered something which resembled an _'I don't know.'_

"… N-Naruto-kun? …" she swallowed and damned herself for the stutter, "Y-you can't t-tell anyone, … what I've told you today … okay …"

"Hmmm … why's that?" he raised his arms behind his head and watched her inquisitively.

"B-Because … ano … I- I wasn't supposed to tell a-anyone…" she smiled at him apprehensively, hoping it might help him to understand.

"OK! No Problem!" he chirped enthusiastically.

"….p-promise?"

"PROMISE!"

…………**..------------------……………..**

The sun was beginning to set beyond the hospital windows. All he could hear was the mechanical buzz of a machine beside him which seemed to do nothing of any sort other than create an annoying 'ping' every few moments. Taisan considered himself reasonably patient, probably the least patient in his team, but still patient.

Being left alone in a hospital bed all day though, … well that was just rude. Several times he'd removed the straps binding him to the bed and left for the bathroom, or steal something from the cafeteria. He'd brushed past a few people and nurses but no one seemed to notice him. Each time he left he returned shortly afterward and re-strapped himself obediently to the mattress.

'_I should be fuming right now really … I deserve a good fume, or at least a brood'_

A door in the corner slowly creaked open. A hairline crack slowly became a gap as a curious dark eye peeked into the room. He didn't move, … he waited … silently. The intruder sighed and began closing the door again slowly.

"Don't run …"

The door shivered. Taisan raised his eyebrow, waiting for his first guest. He hoped it was someone he knew, someone he could be angry with. It wasn't. The woman opened the door apprehensively, allowing him to see her more clearly. She looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a dark blue robe with white trims and had black hair which was cut into a fairly neat, but long, bob. Her skin was very pale and her eyes were a deep dark colour, probably brown. Difficult to tell in the light.

"Taoru-sama."

"Yes … … … …This is the part where you tell me your name." he smiled at his own poor attempt at humour.

"My name is Shizune, … ano, I'm your personal …" she struggled for the right word, "nurse …"

"Nurse?" he grimaced slightly at the idea. The strange woman still hadn't entered the room, preferring to stand in the doorway.

"Hai, … I'm going to be helping you heal."

She was afraid of him. It was obvious. The way she paused, the way she couldn't look him in the eye, her nervous demeanour. He'd dealt with it a lot.

"What day is this?"

"Wednesday."

"Only one night, huh? I was expecting more."

"Tsunade-sama expected you would be awake soon, … although you're still awake a lot earlier than I thought."

"A Bijuu does that. … …" he waited for the shocked response he got from anyone he said that too, he was surprised when he didn't receive one, "…You already know, eh?"

She nodded, and downcast her eyes. This was getting tiresome, he hadn't had to deal with a person like this in a while. Hinata was pretty quiet when he first met her, but she got over that, … around him at least, strangers she wasn't so good with.

"Well if you're going to be my nurse …" the woman looked up, surprised by his mirthful tone and smiling face, "You could at least call me by my name, it's Taisan"

"Taisan?" she thought for a moment, _'That's not his real name?'_

"Yeah, Taisan, T-A-I-S-A-N" he spelt it out for her, "Got it memorised?"

"… But … you're name's not Taisan …" she took a small step into the room as she spoke.

"It's what my friends call me, they used to call me Tao, … but well that's kinda hard to pronounce," he closed his eyes as if reading a speech from the back of his eyelids, it seemed he'd had to explain this a lot, "… so I had people start calling me Tai … but then some dope started being polite and called me 'Tai-san' and it just sort'a stuck. You know what I mean?"

One golden eye opened to glance quizzically at the medic-nin.

"…Ano … I think so?"

"Good, … So can I get up now?"

"Gomen," she stepped forward again to untie the braces but found they were already loose as he slipped his wrists and ankles from them, untying the strap around his neck with his freed arms.

"So … let's go see the Hokage …" he stepped up to exit the room when he suddenly found the woman blocking his path. She was only barely shorter than him, but made up for it by the icy glare she now had in her eyes. He stepped back. "… you're blocking the door …"

"I know, … you can't leave the hospital for a little while," her timid behaviour seemed to return quickly.

His face alone seemed to ask _'why?'_ without having to say it.

"I need to examine you first, … and then wait till the Hokage gives the go ahead for you to leave." she looked into his chest, shuddering as she spoke.

"When you say 'examine'? …You mean questions right?" she looked up at him, she'd expected an explosion of anger, this boy was nothing like the rumours. He actually looked a little frightened.

"Well, yes I will need to question you, but there will also be a physical exam…" she stopped explaining as she saw his eye twitch.

"There's no need for that! … I'm fine REALLY! … Just ask the questions!" he'd stepped away from her now.

She didn't pry into his objection, but couldn't possibly leave his injuries uninspected.

"It's important that I check your injuries!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY!" he raised his hands before his chest to forge a barrier. He winced slightly as a large cut opened near his elbow.

"You don't say?" She'd lost her fear completely now. She'd gained the upper hand already, and he'd only just met her. She smiled victoriously.

"This is nothing," the teen mumbled, "…It'll heal on its own."

"Tell you what?" She stood directly in front of him now and placed her fingers over the large cut, a green aura radiated from her fingers, "I'll go get you something to eat. Then when I come back, we'll worry about the examination." The wound began to close, as the jutsu took effect.

He hadn't really been listening to the proposition, his attention lay entirely focused on her fingers. She repeated for him and he awkwardly agreed. He waited for her to leave before seriously considering his options.

'Ok …. So … window or door?'

………………**..-----------------……………..**

"HEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

Hinata grimaced a little as the blonde shinobi darted through the rooftops yelling to anyone who might hear him. He continued to search the city, occasionally yelling down to her as she continued to calmly pace the dusty road.

"HEY, THERE'S SOMEONE OVER THERE!"

"THERE'S AN OLD LADY OVER THERE!"

"NO ONE OVER THERE!"

"ICHIRAKU'S OPEN! BUT I CAN'T SEE THE OLD MAN WHO RUNS IT!"

She smiled a little, she'd activated her Byakugan a while ago and had already checked the streets around her. He couldn't have noticed. What used to be an entire network of veins protruding through her skin when the doujutsu was activated was now little more than a slight wrinkle. The advantages of Taisan's chakra training.

"HEY HINATA!"

She tripped but caught herself before she fell. Naruto had suddenly fallen from the rooftops and landed beside her, then yelled loudly as though she was on the other side of the street.

"…. yes?" she whispered the words, hoping he might quieten down with them.

"What?" he was already pacing quite close beside her, but found a way to close the gap regardless.

"…ano …. yes?"

"What was it like being a 'missing nin'?" he emphasized the title as if it were an honour.

"… ano…" he closed any remaining distance between them, his jacket brushing her fingertips as their arms swung at their sides.

"What?"

"G-Gomen … what I mean is … ano …" the words lost all meaning as he arched closer to her, trying to catch her whispers.

"Hmmm?"

"… I wasn't really a … m-missing nin …" she swore the words were inaudible.

"I thought Taisan-sensei never told you it was a mission?"

"… w-well n-no, he didn't"

"So you must've thought you were a missing nin?"

She struggled to avoid the question, no matter how she looked at it, she had always known, somehow, she would return. Konoha was her home. Taisan had always talked about going back to Konoha. How she was going to impress everyone with her new power. But after the first year … well … she never asked when he was taking her home.

"…I"

Without warning a large shuriken, easily spanning three feet, sliced through the air behind them and dug into the ground vertically between the couple. Hinata saw it coming and dashed backward slightly. Naruto had been a little slower but readied his kunai in anticipation. Smoke seeped quickly from the centre of the shuriken totally blocking any vision. On instinct Hinata forced more chakra into her eyes.

They were surrounding them now. Eight of them.

Anbu.

"Hyuuga Hinata." like all Anbu the voice was dark and monotonous, completely free of gender, "Come with us!"

…………**.------------------………………**

The thick oak doors of the Hokage office opened with a soft creak as two konoha shinobi stepped into the room. One wore a black and orange jumpsuit, had spiky blond hair and three deep whisker marks in his cheeks, he also proudly sported a cut lip and various small bruises. The other wore a thin black outfit with a large blue and white jacket wrapped around her hips. Behind them eight Anbu officers trudged sporting various injuries.

The Kage rubbed sleep from her eyes and yawned widely before addressing the group, "I see you wanted to come too, Naruto."

The boy grinned broadly, proud of the mess he'd created with the elite ninja's behind him. Hinata gave a small wave to the Kage and muttered a 'konnichiwa.' The otherwise professional nature of the room was destroyed by the mass of disordered paperwork on the desk, which had been shuffled into a makeshift pillow. Several words of print were pasted against the woman's cheek. To the left of the group Jiraiya sat up from his couch, muttering a few curses under his breath.

"Hey! Ero-Sennin! HEY! Over Here!"

"Shut up, idiot, don't call me that in front of company." The Sannin held his neck and did a few shoulder rolls and neck cracks.

"Hokage-sama, gomen! We brought the girl as you requested, but the boy was … difficult to get rid of." The head Anbu, held one arm behind his back as he spoke, a visible bite mark on his wrist.

"That's fine, That's fine," Tsunade maintained her nonchalant and tired expression flawlessly, "I had to talk to him anyway."

"Tsunade-sama, … ano… H-How is Taisan-sensei?" Hinata chimed in her first concerns.

"Taisan? … You mean Taoru?"

A feeble nod let her go on.

"He's in the hospital. Nothing serious. Extreme exhaustion. Nothing to worry about."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, clutching at her heart in gratitude. Several of the Anbu began looking at each other in suspicious confusion.

"Hokage-sama?" One raised a hand with great enthusiasm, "Correct me if I'm wrong. But if I'm not mistaken. Did we go to war against Taoru-sama?"

'…_sama? So sensei's respected amongst the Anbu?'_ Hinata wondered.

Tsunade tilted her head and pouted in annoyance, "That is no longer the case. If there's nothing left to report you are dismissed.'

"Hokage-sama! The missing nin!" he pointed to the Hyuuga girl, "… The law states that all missing nin must …"

"You heard the lady, get lost!" Jiraiya interrupted the excitable ninja, whose comrades had already begun filing out the room.

"Ahh, … but…" the masked man turned to the hermit, "What about …"

Jiraiya stood up sternly, easily a foot taller than the other shinobi's in the room. The best way to describe his expression …. pissed! This was all that the man needed as he crab walked through the doorway.

"Bloody Anbu," the large man slouched back into his chair with an appreciative yawn, "Think they know everything."

"That was kinda cool, ero-sennin!"

Jiraiya gave a small _'yeah I know, so what' smile'_ and gave his student a haughty thumbs up. The orange ninja gave a small one in return, then turned to Tsunade with the speed of a viper.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

Tsunade clasped her chin in her hands, impervious, she'd expected this would come eventually.

"… what?"

"YOU! … YOU! …" Naruto twitched a little, trying to organize his thoughts, "YOU! … YOU STARTED A WAR!"

Tsunade, choked immediately, "I DID NOT!"

"YES YOU DID! DATTEBAYO!"

Jiraiya held his head in his hands as he mentally pictured his team-mate's next reaction. Hinata pleaded the boy to stop with her eyes but received no attention, obviously he hadn't been paying as much attention as she'd thought.

Tsunade stood from her chair, placed both fists firmly on her desk and reached decibels of yelling Hinata could only dream of.

"NO I BLOODY DIDN'T YOU LITTLE SHIT! NOW SHUT UP AND COME WITH ME!"

This said, a very hot-headed and clenched fist village leader stormed through the door. Kicking Jiraiya neatly in the shin as she left.

"Thanks …" Jiraiya seethed for a moment, "Thanks a lot Naruto! Now I'm gonna get blamed for your stupidity."

"But … She did … right?" the boy turned to the dark haired girl for support, finding only a shy, blushing smile.

"That's exactly the kind of thinking that Tsunade doesn't need right now! Baka!" The Sannin continued to rub his aching shin.

"ARE YOU COMING!" Tsunade's deep scream echoed through the towers hallways.

"…g-gomen" immediately hurrying out of the room the girl swept through the doorway.

"But … she … I thought …"

"We'll explain it to you when we get there, eh?" his sensei smiled still gripping his shin. No matter how hard he trained this kid, no matter how many techniques he learnt, he was still … well …. stupid.

"N-naruto-kun?" Hinata leaned against the doorframe slightly, partially hidden, "Y-You're coming? Y-Yes?"

The blond huffed in confused annoyance. Hinata wasn't the enemy. And now Tsunade wasn't the enemy._ 'WHAT THE HELL!'_

Jiraiya watched the small girl curiously. The way she was blushing and hiding behind the doorframe. Her downward glancing eyes, … pale eyes,… Hyuuga eyes.

She was still leaning against the doorframe, waiting patiently for the two to follow. More importantly waiting on the blonde. Jiraiya chuckled as he quickly used addition in his head.

'… _This kid is REALLY stupid. Heh, lucky bastard.' _

…………**..---------------……………**

'_Leaving the hospital,'_ Taisan decided, _'…Would definitely be a bad move, I'm still a missing-nin here.' _

He sighed and slumped back into the bed, wiping the sweat from his brow. His arm still tingled from the medical jutsu the girl had placed on him, it was definitely very advanced. It had closed the wound completely, as long as he didn't pick at it, it wouldn't even scar. He'd thought about learning medicinal jutsu before, but found simply applying chakra to the wounds healed them up quickly enough anyway.

'_It's just a medical examination, no shirt, that'll be all. Anything else, refuse. Just refuse. Gottit? … Gottit?' _

Resolute he jumped upward and firmly planted his feet onto the ceiling, subconsciously applying the necessary chakra to keep him in place. Then crossed his legs and sat into a meditation position. Forming the basic seal he began molding chakra, and revolving it around his body. A basic regenerative technique.

'_I'll just make sure I have no wounds to examine.' _Smiling he continued the ritual for several minutes.

"Hey!"

His golden eyes shot open and stared back into deep black ones.

"… heh … back so soon?" _'HOW THE HELL DIDN'T I SENSE HER COME IN!!!'_

She stood on his bed so she was elevated to an appropriate height, serendipity seemed to bring them at perfect 'right side up to upside down' eye level, her face also stood but a few inches from his nose.

"You like pasta?" her voice was jovial and warm.

'_What happened to the scared little girl who wouldn't even enter the room? Am I really that easy to dominate?'_

"I have nothing against pasta …"

"Good! Coming down?"

Shizune was loving this. Taoru-sama was a legendary konoha ninja. Team Sujin in itself had legends which rivalled her sensei's. All the legends spoke of Taoru-sama as a powerful and merciless killer. A man who was controlled by the monster within him, to quote one directly …

"_The invisible army, that is the Kyuubi-Bunshin, destroys all in it's path in a never-ending search for rivalry."_

What she saw however, was a teenager. A teenager in a white Kage robe, but a teenager nonetheless. Actually, the Kage robe was just a cheap imitation. Kage's are elected by the other five Kage's of the greater shinobi nations. A village that didn't even have its own country could only have a leader, with a name which mocked the ideology of the true Kage nations.

"Am I interrupting something?" Tsunade's voice was bitter and very unimpressed.

Shizune spun on her heel quickly and promptly jumped down from the bed, clutching the small red meal tray to her stomach. "No, nothing Tsunade-sama! All's well! He's fine, see? Awake too!" she laughed nervously, Tsunade continued to frown as a small gathering appeared behind her.

The sword wielder's jaw clenched and his eyes grew wide. _'How could I be so stupid, worrying about a physical exam at a time like this…,'_ dropping from the ceiling he took a step back, '… how selfish.'

"….Hokage-sama …. I … I apologise," a vacant frown caressed his face, "I failed, …. Miserably."

Tsunade stepped inside and leant against the windowsill, smiling slightly, "Don't say that, …. The success rate of this mission was three percent at best, considering the Sand interference and the Rock's treachery." She laughed quietly and raised her hands as if waving off the matter, "It's a wonder it turned out as well as it did."

Naruto, Hinata and Jiraiya stepped inside slowly, Taisan avoided eye contact with any of them. The heiress watched him carefully, trying to gauge his actions, concerned. Jiraiya paced the room with crossed arms before leaning against a wall suspiciously close to Shizune. Naruto, on the other hand said what first came to mind …

"…"

where could he possibly start …

"Taoru-san. We're here for a report." Tsunade bridged the silent gap.

"… where … where should I begin …?"

"Start at the beginning, for their sakes …" she pointed to the two other males in the room, "… then, when you get to the end, stop."

'_That's easy enough to say, … where's the beginning, … this isn't a report, … it's a story, … there's no way a report can take into account …. everything, ….'_

He breathed deeply, "In that case, … this begins with the Chuunin exams on the year of the Sandaime's death."

……………**.--------------------………………..**

**End of Chapter 5**

……………**.--------------------………………..**

a/n

The next few chapters are going to be heavy with flashbacks, mostly of the Chuunin Exam and the incident at the fortress which I've only referenced to.

Dedications

The bit where Tsunade tells Taisan to start at the beginning is from "Through the Looking Glass" a novel my Journalism teacher referred to a lot at the time I wrote this chapter.

The part where Shizune and Taisan are looking at each other upside down is from a filler episode where Naruto and Hinata do the exact same thing, except there they don't get through it so gracefully.


	6. Eliminators!

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

A/N. … more at end

I will remind everyone that this is a reasonably mature fiction, there are going to be sexual references, but I'm praying that I can avoid actually having to write a lemon in this thing. Right now the story's pretty much writing itself.

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

previously….

He breathed deeply, "In that case, … this begins with the Chuunin exams on the year of the Sandaime's death."

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 6: Eliminators! The impossibly strong Chuunin!**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

'_The ability to give one's life for another … makes us human. ….And yet ….'_

The medical room smelt darker somehow, the usually overwhelming smell of lemon scented disinfectant was being overturned by the unmistakable odour of blood. Not clean blood either, but dirty bloody, tainted. Blood from a person who didn't deserve life to begin with. His blood.

"What happened" he heard his voice but swore his lips hadn't moved. The bright lights on the ceiling were tinged much redder than before. "…. blood?"

"… _you fainted, quite disgraceful really,_"

Taisan tilted his head to examine the large mound piled against his chest from which the voice came.

"…Hinata?"

The girl's head lay rested on his left ribs, face buried against him, her usually dark hair was stained red from the overhanging lights. .

"… You're … not her … are you?"

'… _no,… I am you…_.'

A desire to vomit slowly crept into his mind, but he held it back. The Kyuubi had never spoken to him before. But for it to say it was him … he just felt like spitting it out from his chest.

"… Kyuubi … where is everyone?"

'_Waiting outside, they were very annoyed when you lost consciousness, just when you were about to give your report too…_'

……………**---------------------------………..**

**.Practice Arena 44. 2 years 8 months prior to incident.**

"Welcome to the stage of for the second test. Practice arena 44! Also known as … 'The Forest of Death'!!!" Anko's voice darkened for emphasis.

Auron smirked as he saw most of the Genin visibly pale, Anko was good at that sort of thing, intimidation, it came naturally he supposed. _'Not to mention that sweet ass and ti…"_

A smart-aleck Genin mimicked the woman, raising his voice to comical levels "You'll soon find out why it's called the Forest of Death,"… Auron did a short double-take, _'Okay, so she's not THAT intimidating.'_

"Auron?" Sujin spoke quietly from his side, still intently watching the children with a pair of dark green binoculars, "We are here to grade the Genin, … not observe their instructors," the older woman's serious tone never faltered.

"Why do we have to be here anyway, eh?" the Chuunin whined, "It's not like we're the ones making the speech, eh?" Hiding in the forest's trees was an extreme pain, especially 48 hours before the mission began. He'd been forced to come and sit in this damn tree and observe the kids from over a kilometers distance away. He came because his comrade's made him, he stayed because some of the Genin were Hyuuga.

"We should know who has advanced this far in the test, and by that, judge which ones should be eliminated. As 'Eliminators' that is our mission, … it's logical." Her pale skin and tight cheekbones reflected the sunlight in an eerily natural way.

"But they're just Genin, eh? They ain't got nothin' on us, eh?"

"Correct, … however, it is still recommended observe your enemies firsthand. You should read the 'Shinobi Almanac' sometime."

A simple grunt was her reply. Even for a sixteen year old, a boy from such prestigious clans should have had more natural courtesy. She pondered him for a moment. This was his fourth try at the 'Third principle,' one of over fifty tests to prove Jounin compatibility. So far, this was the only element yet to be completed by the team.

His short blonde hair stood rigid in its unglamorous crew cut fashion, a small rat tail hung on his neck. His skin was pale with a well defined jaw and cheekbones. His small grey coloured eyes shot intricate veins across his face as he peered through the leaves ahead of him. Aside from the veins, he was disastrously handsome, well more than handsome, he was beautiful in a way that border-lined feminism. A gift which fed his overconfidence and sizeable ego.

His chosen uniform consisted of a wire mesh undershirt, over that was his adapted red Chuunin jacket with long sleeves which reached out to his red leather gloves. The vest was painted in a camouflage style where red crossed over with several brown augmentations. A perfect disguise for most industrial areas but not too good in a forest, not that it really mattered against Genin class ninja.

His vest had been cut short to reveal his tight stomach and abdominals which etched against the thin wire undershirt. He wore a four piece gun belt which wrapped around the waist and also strapped across his right shoulder. The belt's holster's lay on either side of his hips, as well as his groin and upper back. Between each holster was as an impressive array of ammunition, most of which were basic copper shells. His long trousers matched the vest and were tucked roughly into large brown boots. His Konoha forehead protector was embedded into the right hand sleeve of the vest.

"Hey, I think it's Taisan's turn to speak! eh?"

………………**..--------------------……………………………**

"A final word of advice ….. don't die …"

Again an impressive array of pale faces washed over the group from Anko's final words. This, of course, was his queue. The sword wielder sat up from his lazy sitting position against a small fern, brushing past Anko as he stood to address the group before him.

'_So the rookies are all still here … And the Hyuuga … Auron won't like this …'_

He stared absently into the trees for a moment, where his two teammates were probably hiding, he pictured them sitting there, Sujin with her back against the tree, concentrating on the group, Auron … probably complaining with his legs dangling nonchalantly over a branch, … possibly watching Anko.

"Hey! Old man! You got summin' to say?" whoever had spoken in the group cowardly tucked themselves away among the mass when they saw the teen's deeply glazed, golden eyes sharpen in on them. He scanned the group over in complete silence. They hadn't been ordered to listen to him, he wasn't even announced, but they stood silent all the same.

He smirked a little, playing the tough guy role was always fun, "I'm going to say this once. So listen …. This exam lasts five days … the best of you should be at the tower within two or three. In order to trim the 'fat', and also to avoid the event of 'collectors,'…" He took a breath, "…'Eliminators' are going to be dispatched on the second day. … That is all."

He turned away and took a few steps, waiting for the one courageous person, 'and there was always one', who would ask the inevitable question.

"HEY! WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN?" in this scenario, an Inuzuka boy named Kiba was that 'courageous' person.

With one swift movement his body flickered and reappeared behind the Inuzuka boy. Several of the Genin around took a step back, Kiba however remained still, paralyzed by shock. Taisan stood proudly over him, letting his shadow cast over the smaller boys figure.

"An 'Eliminator' is 'me', … and two other, 'Elite' Chuunin's who will judge your abilities head on, and decide whether you deserve to pass this test."

Kiba gulped loudly.

"I suppose I didn't really explain myself," he allowed the venom to drip off his tongue as he turned around to face the other Genin, using his left hand to grip the dog boy's shoulder, "We eliminators hold with each of us a large bag of additional scrolls, you may choose to challenge us for them, or steal them. That's up to you. We, however, will be defending these scrolls. It's up to you to judge whom you believe is probably an eliminator while you are in the forest. We may be among you right now?" he smiled as several wary eyes turned to those around them, "I will offer you advice though, no tricks, no deeper meaning, …"

Every face now held determination and curiosity, believing that this strange ninja was about to give them an unwritten cheat.

"Avoid us … or you'll die" He waited a few moments as many faces turned pale again, probably more than Anko received.

"You can't beat us. We shouldn't even be a last resort. Perhaps in previous tests, but not this one. 'My' team is …. 'impossibly' strong."

A large shared gulp spread through the crowd.

"So, if you're smart, finish the test on the first day." With this said he began pacing out of the group circle his appearance had created, meanwhile Kiba remembered the importance of breathing.

"One last thing,…if any of you are Hyuuga, … definitely finish within the first day, … as you've been told there will be deaths in this test, … and one of my teammates suffers an unfortunate grudge."

Continuing out of the crowd he smiled secretively as he saw a small girl bite her lip, another one further back tried to hide a grimace. _'Wait, … is that a boy?'_

"Nice speech! Taoru-san," Anko smiled from her seat on a large rock while the Genin spread out with their 'permission slips'.

"Arigatou," Taisan smiled politely, scratching his neck.

She watched him for a moment, still smiling as she chewed on a stick of dango.

"Impossibly strong?"

"…"

"… okay, I'll believe it." She brushed her hair out of her eyes and continued to eat her sweets, still watching him. Measuring him up.

He seized up slightly as her eyes rose from the base of his feet. They glimpsed his streamlined black boots and traced along the dark blue trouser legs and the blotchy purple spots which lay irregularly along them. Her vision climbed to his navy unzipped jacket, pushing the material aside to spy his black undershirt which clung tightly against his flesh. Her eyes ventured upward again, pausing briefly at his bare neck admiring his tanned complexion, before breaching his jaw-line and looking straight into his golden-brown eyes.

He gaped for a moment, unsure of what to say in the awkward situation. She made no movement to break eye contact, content to stare devilishly into his pupils. Her wide light brown eyes made no movement, while his shook slightly from self-consciousness.

………………………**------------------------------…………………..**

"Now what are they doing?" Sujin questioned aloud.

The gunman made a childish face, coupled with an 'I don't know' with a lazy tongue.

"Staring contest?" he offered.

She turned to him, honestly unsure if he had been joking or not.

……………**.----------------------……………………….**

'I'm unconscious, right?'

'… _correct'_

This explained a lot, why the hospital room was tinted red, why it didn't seem to maintain a constant shape, why he couldn't move. He couldn't imagine why the Kyuubi would knock him out, there was nothing in his memories that would harm it, … why would a monster care?

' … _you called me Kyuubi? But I am you … do you think you are Kyuubi.'_

Taisan almost laughed, but sufficed in a smile, one his body just wouldn't make, 'You're not me, you're an animal, a demon.'

'… _are you afraid people will think you're an animal? Kyuubi?'_

……………………………**------------------------------…………………………**

Auron giggled like a child as he watched his teammate. Evidently, he'd sheltered from the nights rain in a crudely constructed dirt hole with the Jounin examiner, Anko. The events within he couldn't say, but he allowed his imagination to fill in the gaps.

'_You sly dog, Taisan. I'm gonna get months of blackmail outta this!'_

The three man team had been deployed earlier than expected, something to do with a criminal amongst the examinees, their hadn't been time to give the 'Chuunin' a proper briefing. Either way the Anbu had been deployed, and they'd so graciously asked for some help, of course Sujin immediately accepted the request. He hated how she always did that.

…………………**-----------------------………………**

"You're kidding right? This is Anbu work! It has nothing to do with the Jounin Test! eh? …. I mean, they're just being lazy, we don't need to…"

"If Sujin-sempai says we should go in, we go in …" his sword wielding counterpart spoke up unexpectedly from they're three person circle, "There's no point arguing with 'her', you know what she's like." he sighed a little, making no attempt to hide the insulting tone he'd adopted. She never cared anyway.

"We don't HAVE to do it! I'm sick of being given these high class missions and they won't even us the rank OR the credit! Eh! It ain't bloody fair!" the blonde teen pouted, aware already the argument was lost.

"If we help out the Anbu, they'll respect us for it, they'll vouch for us," Taisan tried to reason.

"PLEASE!" Auron mocked in a high pitched voice, "We should just get stronger and flatten them! That's the only way to win their respect!"

"That is a falsity," Sujin finally interjected, "If the ranking system were purely based on strength, we would already be Jounin. 'Reliability' is what the Jounin's are after. That is why we will assist them in the mission. … Any concerns?"

The two boys stayed quiet. They'd grown to accept the woman as both their sensei, and their teammate. She had been a Jounin once and been demoted to Genin level after she insisted on training them. To train the two boys no one wanted as ninja.

"This mission starts now," She whispered calmly, and with equal tranquility knelt down to the floor, placing her palm flat against the grass. She stayed there a few moments, barely concentrating. Still at ease, she stood up straight and walked backward ten paces. She stood there for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. The two boys watched, feigning disinterest. In what would have appeared to be a sudden spasm she bolted toward them at breakneck speed. Her heavy footed steps shook the dirt beneath her, leaving deep boot imprints. Neither young man moved as she sprinted for them. As she came closer, the floor glowed where she had so carefully knelt a moment before, creating a familiar circular pattern on the floor, a pentagram. Five steps away now, less than a second's distance. Both teens stood perfectly still as they watched her in their personally constructed game of chicken.

As her feet touched the circle it reacted violently as its eerie glow turned into a blinding flash, causing both boys to avert their gaze. As they understood it, the grass and dirt beneath their feet had been altered. What was once tightly packed dirt was now an elastic rubber, infused with Sujin's personal chakra signature. A giant chakra powered springboard.

The body of the woman disappeared instantly as she was thrust upward with unnatural speed, her body twisted slightly in the air, creating a corkscrew effect. Already well over a kilometer above their heads, and still rising.

"We gotta' get her to teach us that, eh?" Auron voiced his complaint openly, "She's gonna be at the tower in a matter of seconds like that, it'll take us bloody hours. eh?"

"We're not going to the tower. We're patrolling the grounds for any suspicious characters," the brown haired teen never tired of lecturing his teammate on his stupidity, "… while keeping away from the Genin."

"Sujin's not here, y'know? You don't have to act all adult."

"I'm not acting, I am an adult!" Taisan objected.

Auron sighed a little, raising his arms behind his neck casually, "Biggest sign of immaturity, y'know, acting like your mature."

"Oh, shut up! You go right, I'll go left." Taisan motioned the appropriate directions.

"Why do I have to go right?" Taisan teased.

"Does it matter?"

'_I can't believe he fell for that'_ Auron thought, "Well, I'd like to have a choice."

"Fine you go left!"

"No! No! I'll go right."

Taisan shook his fist for a moment, before sufficing with biting his knuckle in exasperation, "Just stay out of everyone's way, no fights for two day's remember!"

"Gottit! So which way am I going?"

"… right?"

"Y'know 'left' has more of a ring to it …" Auron didn't bother finishing as his teammate jumped over the wire fence and into the forest, instantly activating an average camouflage jutsu.

'_Fine,'_ The blond teen pouted a little as his friend left him behind, pulling a pistol from his waist and twirling it playfully between his fingers, '… _time for target practice.'_

……………………**.----------------------………………………**

Anyone else would have been terrified at this point. They would have cringed for the stinging pain upon their face, and the wind which lashed at their exposed eyes. The falling sensation alone should have terrified the average shinobi. The pentagram had propelled the woman an incredible distance over the forest terrain below her. Four? Six? … kilometers above the ground. A little higher than she'd aimed for, but it was only a sign she was improving.

Her body was descending back through the troposphere, she stole a glimpse at the setting sun as her back arched out of the corkscrew style, it's beauty was completely lost by her judgmental mind. Both arms held tight against her sides, as she pointed herself downward, toward the forest. The descent continued to accelerate as she flew angularly toward the earth. Her face began to burn as the turbulence began to pick up, breathing wasn't a possibility at such an altitude. She could feel her lungs compressing beneath her ribcage as the ground grew closer. The taller forest ferns were already less than a hundred meters away, it was time.

She broke from her linear form and bent her legs against her stomach, extending her right arm forward, while the left held her elbow for support. The pentagram drawn on her palm's glove glowed gently, as if in recognition a larger one, spanning ten feet or so began drawing itself on the floor before her. She continued to fall through the trees now, a direct collision with one would easily destroy the human body, the branches alone were persistently carving through her clothing.

'… _now!'_

She broke formation again and spiraled leftward into a tree on her side, denting it heavily as her form bounced directly into a limp and rubber like tree next to it. Her body crashed into it, breaking the trunk immediately as she passed through the other side. She reached out her arms, clinging to pieces of vine and branches which burned away at her fingertips. She kicked aggressively against any trees which dared get in her way. Making every possible movement to slow down. She analyzed her position, _'…left!'_ Pushing against a final tree trunk she ricocheted from its bark aiming directly for her ready made pentagram. Using her arms to cover her head she breached the surface.

Silence …

Calmly, the blonde haired woman crawled from her ditch. The soft ground which had swallowed her perfectly cushioned her fall, enveloping her several meters below its crust. Patting off any stray dirt which dare cling to her skin, she re-constituted the soft earth, making it hard and stable. This done the forty-something-year-old woman examined the many scrolls in her backpack, crushing any which had been burned in re-entry. Content that the remaining heaven and earth scrolls were in a suitable condition, she sat and sewed together the ripped parts of her white, full-body outfit. Despite the fall, and total battering the woman had taken through the trees, her body sported not a single scratch.

………………**.---------------------------…………………….**

'_Strange … isn't it?_' the voice spoke, the voice he used to recognize as his own, '_Strange that you rely on these people for your identity._'

"What people?" the brown haired teen couldn't help but feel that he was talking to himself.

'_Your friends, … without them, you would not know who you are._'

"I am me."

"_And yet so am I. … You behave so differently around other people, aren't you afraid they'll fear you?_ "

"Better than being … disgusting …"

…………………………**--------------------………………………**

"ano… W-what d-do we d-do now?" the dark haired girl feebly questioned her teammates, fully aware she wouldn't receive a straight answer from either.

"DANG IT! We got the scrolls! We're at the tower! WE WIN! Right?" the Inuzuka boy stated bluntly.

"…. There is a limerick…" Shino spoke softly, his dark glasses pointed dead ahead.

"Eh?" the boy's expression contorted in impolite confusion.

The older boy simply motioned, using the hem of his coat as a finger, towards his side, "… On the wall."

Hinata stood quietly behind the two boys, as they tried to read the message.

"I reckon… we need to open the scrolls. YEH! That's IT!" without asking his teammates opinions, Kiba removed both Heaven and Earth scrolls from his pockets and opened them both without much fanfare.

"…?"

"….What the HELL is this?" Kiba puzzled momentarily over the strange kanji written on both notes.

"… Put them down …. It is a summoning scroll." Shino informed.

Kiba started as smoke began to issue from each scroll, chucking both scrolls roughly against the wall the three waited as the smoke thickened and eventually began to settle.

They continued to wait.

The smoke settled and nothing had yet emerged from the scrolls. Eventually the smoke completely dispersed leaving them with an empty room.

"WHAT THE H…" Kiba's loud declaration of insolence was cut short as he felt something lean against his back.

"Who would've thought you'd pass this test…" Kiba knew that voice and paled a little, recognizing the same condescending tone, "…puppy."

Taisan enjoyed the startled gasps he received from each Genin as his body slowly emerged from his invisibility Jutsu.

"You should consider yourselves lucky, I just happened to be in the tower dropping off …. a friend, when I realized you three were almost here," _'Thanks to the many seals planted on the scrolls,'_ "Funny how luck can be like that."

"…Why is an eliminator here? … Team 8 has passed the second test …. correct?" Shino questioned the teen, aware that he wasn't carrying the overly large sword he had when the test began.

"Relax. I'm here as a Chuunin to congratulate you on passing the test, in good time too." He looked at the girl for a moment, "I guess you were anxious to get out of there before my buddy was released, huh?"

Kiba breathed a steady sigh of relief, moving from his role as the Chuunin's leaning post. His pattern of speech had changed completely, much more childlike, still condescending, but a little nicer. Hinata shuddered a little, still unsure who could have a grudge against her family. Shino on the other hand … well… he didn't do anything.

"Anyway, as I was saying, …" they watched curiously as he pulled a scroll from the pack around his waist and began reading …

"Congratulations, Genin Team, on passing the second test. On the wall here you will see the motto of the Chuunin as declared by Sandaime Hokage-sama…. It states that if you lack heaven. Seek wisdom, be prepared. …. If you lack Earth. Run in the fields, seek advantages. … And if you have both heaven and earth … You can succeed in even the most dangerous missions. … These rules will guide a person's extremes." Taisan read the words unenthusiastically and quickly, he hadn't practiced them or bothered to read them since his own graduation.

Shino, Kiba and Hinata exchanged anxious and confused looks.

Deciding he should explain, Taisan continued, "… What that means, basically, is that you need to consistently train your weaknesses, be it intelligence or strength. Once you have sufficient amounts of both, missions will come naturally to you. … understand?"

Kiba and Hinata exchanged anxious expressions while Shino nodded delicately.

"Meh, one out of three, not bad," the teen shrugged.

"When will the third test commence?" Shino inquired sternly.

Taisan sighed a little, realizing a creepy similarity between this boy and his older teammate. "Well, you've finished the second test on the morning of the second day. Ergo …" he stopped momentarily, surprised by his own choice of words, "There is still another three days till it officially ends."

"So we get to go home, right?" Kiba's slit-like eyes lit up with hope.

Taisan scratched the back of his neck apologetically, "Heh, actually no, … you're stuck in the tower till the end …"

"ARRGH MAN! That SUCKS!" Kiba's outburst echoed through the halls of the tower, causing many Chuunin to spill various drinks.

"Hey! Hey! You just passed the second part of the Chuunin exam, try to enjoy the moment! …" a cool shrug brushed off any more of Kiba's objections, "Ok, well anyway, since you passed so early I'm obliged to treat you to a meal, so SHUT UP! … and follow me."

Taisan led Kiba and Shino through the old wooden hallways of the large tower which acted as an effective labyrinth of bedrooms and closets. Hinata dragged her feet behind the three, trying to muster courage for her first question.

"…. Ano … S-Sir …." Hinata closed her mouth quickly as the teen stopped and glared at her suddenly.

"… Please … don't call me … 'Sir' …"

"..G-Gomen…"

He didn't respond, but didn't move either, waiting for whatever she had to say. The other two boys turned to look at her as well. None portrayed a shred of patience, tripling her nervousness.

"… ano … w-well …" she gulped timidly under their persistent eyes, "… H-Have any o-other … t-teams f-finished the second t-test? …. Y-Yet?"

What she'd wanted to ask of course is if Naruto's team had passed yet, but that would have been too obvious.

Taisan turned around completely and strode toward her, pushing the two boys aside as he knelt down in front of her. Casually he brushed some stray hair from her forehead, making her jump slightly, his face was stern and unforgiving, "Only one other team has made it here, … a group of ninja's from the Wind Country, … Unfortunately, that other Hyuuga hasn't made it here yet. Not a good omen, … my friends and I will be out there tomorrow."

Kiba was internally repulsed by the idea of staying in the same tower as the three sand Genin. Especially the one with brown hair and green eyes.

"Maybe I didn't make it clear, … if my teammate has a problem with the Hyuuga clan, …. 'I' have a problem with the Hyuuga clan." He enjoyed how her eyes widened at that comment, playing the bad guy was a LOT of fun.

"…"

"So …" He rose again to full height, he was taller than any of them, but couldn't be described as tall, just intimidating "… Still hungry?"

………………………**.---------------------…………………**

'_Do you believe you are yourself?'_

"What kind of a question is that? Of course I believe I am myself"

'_I wouldn't hate you … if you didn't ,… a ninja who specializes in explosive clones and invisibility. Wouldn't have a fixed identity … would he?'_

The unconscious teen was sick of this game, he wanted out. Now!

"What do you want Kyuubi?" he interrogated rather than asked.

'_You still believe you are a demon?'_

"No I think YOU'RE a demon!"

'_Maybe you are, who's to say if your consciousness is your own, or the nine tails. Maybe the real Taisan already died, and you are his replacement.'_

Taisan felt his voice leave him for a moment, he wanted to scream _'ABSURD!!!'_ at the top of his lungs, and 'LIAR!!!' as well as a variety of more colourful variations. But in truth

… he'd considered it many times.

…………**-----------------……………..**

**End Chapter 6**

…………**-----------------……………..**

A/N

This chapter is based a fair bit on Neon Genesis Evangelion, the way in which Rei talks to herself at one point, (an angel).

Sujin's usage of Pentagrams is a dedication to Full Metal Alchemist, a show of which I am now a definite fan.

"The Shinobi Almanac" is a direct reference to the "Ninja Encyclopedia" fanfic which gave me plenty of enjoyment.

Sujin in herself is a dedication to 'Boss' from 'Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.' A lot of her personality and her figure came directly from this character.

I hate to do this but as I'm not sure how well I'm writing, I'm going to tell you that Taisan is unconscious but for some reason he is able to see an altered version of the world around him, making him able to see Hinata lying on his chest. The red colour he thinks is the lights is just his eyes unable to transfer the proper colour to his brain. If anyone else got a different feeling from this let me know.


	7. Auron

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

previously….

"Maybe I didn't make it clear, … if my teammate has a problem with the Hyuuga clan, …. 'I' have a problem with the Hyuuga clan." He enjoyed how her eyes widened at that comment, playing the bad guy was a LOT of fun.

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 7: Auron! Bearing a grudge!**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

Missions based in forest terrain have several extremely appealing facets. First off, it was a very nature driven experience, it encouraged the body to act a little more 'primal' than it would in any other situation. Killing animals for sustenance, drinking water from a stream, pissing on the sides of trees and all the other things you learned camping. All very natural and enjoyable activities, if you think about them in the right kind of light. Auron, didn't like to think of them in this kind of light, he though of himself as more of an industrial based ninja, he had a great talent for the forest, but village and crowd based missions were infinitely more fun.

However, there is a second reason forest based missions are extremely appealing, one that did appeal to him. With no bathrooms, showers or other conveniences, extremely 'shallow' people would attempt to bathe in the outdoor streams. Vulnerable to anyone who happened to be watching. In most cases, these were women, such vulnerable things they are too, just begging to be protected.

Auron chuckled softly from among the leaves of a large redwood. Although the bark of the tree didn't exactly match his clothing, it was more than enough camouflage for the average shinobi. Only about a hundred meters before him, one such 'shallow' and vulnerable girl was bathing in the water of a gentle flowing stream. Her clothes hung across the branches of a tree, while an 'Earth' scroll sat at its base.

'_This is pathetic, … how does she expect to become a Chuunin with this kind of stupidity.'_

Auron simply observed the scene before him, as the girl continued to wash herself in the water, singing 'poorly' and 'loudly'. Her meager thirteen year old frame was covered by her long brown hair. Not Auron's typical taste in women but enough for a cheap laugh.

'_I hope she's TRYING to garner attention, eh? … Ah! More spectators …' he mused casually._

Three other ninja's had arrived on the scene, no doubt attracted by the clean drinking water and horrendous vocal work of the very naked kunoichi.

'_Rain-nins?'_

The three split up to surround the girl from a reasonable distance, Auron noted one drop to the ground behind a bush silently, without attracting his teammates attention.

'_So … it's a trap?'_

Auron's silent question was answered momentarily as one of the foreign shinobi made a quick break for the scroll, before he was within ten meters he ran sideways like a headless chicken and fled along with his comrade. The two ninja's who had been hidden pursued. Auron did a double take on their appearance …

'_One's a green tight wearing … dork? … and the other …. Hmmm … a brown haired ……. Hyuuga ….. well … How can I resist now?'_

……………**.----------------------…………………….**

The scene cleared out leaving the girl alone once more as her teammates pursued the would-be thieves, wading quickly through the water to her clothes for a quick redress and pursuit.

'_I'm such a genius! I knew this would work ...' she mentally patted her own back._

Her inner praise was cut short as she noticed a pair of brown, muddied boots standing on the water directly in front of her. She swallowed hard, she was completely unarmed, and not in any position to fight.

"Hello … Tenten I presume?"

The girl didn't dare look up, entirely fixated on his boot laces and the red trousers that currently constituted his entire being.

"I've read your profile, must be a bitch to work with a Hyuuga, eh?"

She didn't speak, instead biting her lip, frozen in the water.

"Allow me to be blunt, I'm an 'Eliminator!'" she swallowed loudly, bringing her arms to her shoulders in a crossed fashion to cover her chest. "As such it's my duty to teach you a lesson."

'_Oh god no!'_

She shuddered in the warm water, the situation was far worse than she'd feared. Continuing to watch his legs, Tenten stared blankly as the teen knelt down to face her. She now stared blindly at his chin.

'…_I can feel his chakra ….. it's …. too much… way too much ….'_

"Lesson number one," he raised his left index finger, "Using sexuality as a weapon, is a very dangerous game to play." He pulled up her chin forcing her to look into his eyes. The three black symbols indented into his grey iris began to rotate slowly around the pupil, as she continued to stare, totally transfixed.

'… _this is … Genju…tsu …'_

"NO!!!" she screamed in panic, head-butting her enemy backward into the water, hard! She shivered violently as his limp body began to breach the surface of the water, head first, followed by the torso while the legs simply sank directly into the stream. Wasting no time she jumped from the stream and dressed, grabbing the Earth scroll. She checked the water again, certain that he hadn't arisen from the water, she darted off after her teammates.

'… _Alright! … That was easy. I thought the Chuunin were ….'_

She stopped as she stared at the environment before her …

'_The stream, … but how?'_

She had only moments before fled the very earth she was now standing upon, the tree she had just hung her clothes on, the water she had just been bathing in. It was all still here.

Startled, she turned tail and ran backward, back in the opposite direction, only to find the same result. The stream was there again, the tree, everything.

"There's no way!" she breathed.

She sped off again in a new direction this time, she just barely passed through the trees when she found herself again on the same bank of the gentle stream. She wasn't given time to scream as her body began to levitate from the earth, gliding just a few inches above the ground.

"What is this?" she screamed into the open space, well aware someone was listening.

She watched in horror as her pink shirt began to melt and liquefy, slowly dripping from her body to the sandy earth beneath her, her green pants began to follow the same routine. She was left once again naked, floating above the ground without the comfort of the stream to cover her.

"As I said …." the voice gurgled from the stream in front of her, a thick froth rose threateningly from its depths. "… Lesson number one, using sexuality …. as a weapon!"

She screamed. Loud and long as the world melted away just like her clothes leaving an infinite space of darkness. From which hundreds of invisible hands seized her and quickly began to probe her body, squeezing and prodding, pulling and rubbing, intruding and opening.

A loud gasp escaped her lips as a giant invisible fist and arm gripped her body roughly, along with the thousands of other smaller ones and pulled her downward, deeper into the abyss.

"Welcome …" his voice echoed deeply, though she scarcely heard it through the sound of her own screaming, "… to your own sexuality!"

…………………**..-----------------------------……………………….**

Auron couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the girl. He'd dragged her limp form onto the bank and delicately laid her down, using her own clothes to cover her. She had been breathing heavily and aggressively at first, but was now moaning in an agreeable fashion.

'_Jeez, eh? I don't think she's even realized its Genjutsu yet?'_ The gunman sat leaning against the base of the large tree, playing with the Earth scroll the girl had been left to protect. _'Now we wait ….'_

"You should be grateful you know, it's not everyday I let a kid experience this kind of pleasure, eh?" he spoke to the shivering body.

The minutes wore by slowly, Auron stifled his boredom by throwing small pebbles on the kunoichi's face, trying to make one sit on her forehead protector's emblem, which he'd sat on her forehead for just such purpose. He managed to get a small pile growing when he sensed the return of two Shinobi's.

…………………………**-------------------------------………………………**

Neji sped through the trees a little ahead of his companion. He smirked a little as he held a Heaven seal in his fingers. The enemies had been strong, a decent challenge which appealed to Neji's personality. Lee had just been happy to find an enemy with the appropriate scroll.

"Neji-kun!"

"Be quiet! We're leaving this forest now! Don't talk! You'll attract enemies!"

Lee didn't realize that Neji was simply telling him to shut up. Instead he believed his words without question, turning left and right, trying to see any other ninja's in the area.

'What a baka…' Neji thought calmly. Tenten's plan had been successful, admittedly he had seriously doubted that anyone would be distracted by her body in the water to not notice a trap. She was a girl, he realized, but not a beautiful one.

Neji hadn't thought to activate his blood limit until they arrived at the stream once again, instantly realizing that something was very wrong. Tenten lay unconscious on the sand of the bank, covered by her clothes which lay piled on top of her. He saw 'him' sitting at the base of a tree just a few meters away.

"TENTEN!" Rock Lee bounced toward her, passing the enemy without noticing.

Neji walked calmly into the clearing, carefully watching for any explosive tags or other enemies in the area beside the one at the tree, he passed him slowly, pretended he couldn't see him.

Lee crouched over her, cupping her head in his bandaged hands as he tried to wake her, opening her eyelids with his thumb to check for any recognition, slapping her softly with the back of his hand.

"Her pulse… check for a pulse." Neji stood over him, attempting to voice concern for the girl while watching the man who sat completely in sight now. Lee still hadn't noticed the silent foe.

As Lee placed his fingers against her neck, Neji questioned the intruder, without turning to look at him.

"Who are you?"

"…."

"Who are you?"

Lee breathed a small sigh of relief as he heard Ten-ten moan softly in his hands, a few wet tears dripped down his cheeks.

"… It is polite, to introduce yourself, before asking another their name."

"….Nani?" this was not the first time he'd been told this, remembering an Uchiha who had commented the same thing.

"…"

Lee peered over his shoulder, looking for the bastard who dare attack his treasured friend. He found Neji already conversing with him, but opted not to leave her side, still trying to wake her.

"My name is Hyuuga Neji …. yours?"

"Auron … Kamana Auron …" the man spoke indignantly, sporting a half smile as he raised his head to face Lee, revealing a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes, "I wouldn't wake her if I were you …"

"Why?" Lee questioned angrily, still bent over the kunoichi.

"She'll suffer a mental spasm, and be useless in battle for the next hour or so. Better to just let the Jutsu run its course."

"What did you do to her?" Lee spoke in as menacing a tone as he could muster, still deeply distraught.

Auron considered this question for a moment, "I suppose … I took her virginity, … mentally at least."

Lee looked completely disgusted, while Neji forced additional chakra into his eyes, preparing for an attack.

"What!?" Neji couldn't contain himself for this! Such a disgusting jutsu on a team-member wouldn't be tolerated.

"Right now she's probably going through several strings of mentally induced heightened orgasmic reactions, eh? … is that what you wanted to hear … Hyuuga?

Auron swore he could see flames coming from the bowl cut boy's eyes. He was exactly as described in the 'Almanac,' skinny, with hands like a monkeys which were covered in bandages. The other boy looked like every Hyuuga he'd ever met, he had to admit his own skin very closely resembled the boy's.

"I taught her a lesson, in tactics, and it seems I must teach you all one as well. eh?"

The green clad taijutsu user delicately picked up the girl and set her down against a tree a little further away, hopefully in a safe place.

"Lesson number two, abandoning your comrades, … don't do it." Auron stood, still using the tree as a comfortable leaning post. "Because this happens."

The Hyuuga prodigy clenched his teeth a little, unable to defend their actions in leaving the girl behind. It had been a decision on her behalf rather than his, with only a day or so left of the test he couldn't argue with her.

"Lesson number three, setting traps … be prepared for what happens, if someone sees 'through' the trap." Stepping forward a little off the tree, readjusting the dark glasses on his nose he continued "… if your not prepared, this happens."

Lee stepped forward to stand beside his brown haired comrade. Determination and vengeance streaking from his eyes.

"Life's a bitch really, … it gives you the test first and the lesson afterward, eh?" Both boys readied into a fighting stance, "… luckily for you, it would look bad on my part if I 'removed' a Hyuuga from this test, … what with my reputation. So I guess I can't exterminate your team like it deserves. …" The teen shrugged calmly, taking two weapons in either hand, "… Oh well, it'll still be fun to beat up a Hyuuga."

Neither boy took any notice of his threats, totally indifferent to learning their enemy was an exterminator, or that he was the one the examiner spoke of three days earlier. Both boys were now out for revenge.

Twirling the two weapons in his fingers calmly, Auron prompted their attack, "Come …"

Lee struck first, diving low using his right leg to kick his enemy high into the air, 'The Initial Lotus.' Aurons body propelled upward, dashing against various tree branches in its path. As his body began to slow, he felt the boy appear behind him.

"This technique is used solely for protecting an important person! SO I USE IT NOW, GAI-SENSEI!"

…bang.

Lee's eyes widened as a great pain suddenly raped his left thigh and right side ribs. Gushes of blood began to softly dribble from two open wounds. Looking at his enemy, he saw the two weapons protruding from each underarm, pointed recklessly and randomly.

The force of the shots sent Lee backward into a tree trunk, before falling ungracefully to the ground, covered by bushes. Auron calmly turned his body in the air, clinging horizontally against a tree, looking downward at the remaining boy.

"If you're not even going to make me use my blood-limit, what's the point, eh?" He called out to him, mockingly, again readjusting his dark glasses.

Neji didn't respond, instead readjusting his pose slightly, still watching him intently.

Calmly Auron opened his two weapons and placed a few small metal objects inside, "These are called 'Pistols' kid, watch out for them, cause they hurt like hell, … As I imagine your friend realized, eh?"

Lee pulled himself difficultly from the bushes, one hand clutching the right side of his chest, breathing heavily. Auron released his grip on the trunk and fell from the tree tops, bending his knees to land softly on the dirt floor.

"Well, Hyuuga, make your move!" his provocation went unheard as Neji continued to hold his position.

"Fine … be that way" without effort the teen raised one pistol and fired a few shots in their general direction, unconcerned about the accuracy.

"KAITEN!" Auron mused as he watched the Hyuuga's heavenly spin technique, easily blocking the bullets which ricocheted harmlessly into the dirt. Lee jumped backward quickly to avoid being caught in the technique.

Neji stopped once he was convinced the enemy had stopped, mentally calculating a strategy, _'Six shots….'_

Again Auron calmly reloaded the gun, scarcely watching the two boys. "Another lesson, Teamwork, … if an ally is within range of your own technique, inform them, or just don't use it. That's how you end up with 'friendly casualties.'"

He used both pistols now, aiming this time at Lee. He fired both randomly, occasionally spinning them in his fingers for his own amusement. With great effort Lee thrust his fist into the earth below, and pulled out a large boulder, which he used as a shield. Bracing under the impact as each bullet dug into the rock, pushing him backward slightly.

'_Twelve Shots!'_ Neji ran forward, each palm reverberating with chakra, ready to land a flurry of gentle fist style punches.

"Baka …" Auron spoke numbly as he fired a thirteenth shot into the boy's shoulder, followed quickly by a barrage of less powerful ones through the boy's entire body, which shook with every impact in mid air.

Neji fell backward from the force and paled against the sand floor of the bank, as he felt chakra being supped from his body. "How…? How could you fire another shot? It was empty I saw it"

"You were foolish, and relied on your eyes too much, eh?." his voice was harsh and sincere, "I specially built these guns, they fire not only metal bullets, but also my own chakra. Splicing into your Tenketsu, rupturing them and sending off shockwaves to injure any other organs around them." He pocketed the guns casually.

"…That's … impossible, only the Byakugan, … can see the Tenketsu Points." Neji grunted through gritted teeth. This only seemed to anger the sharp shooter, gripping him by the collar, pulling him upward.

"You think you Hyuuga are so fucking special, eh? You must have toffee stuffed so far up that nose you can taste it!"

"Why do you hate the Hyuuga?"

"Hate's a strong word, … but not strong enough. Hyuuga abandoned me and destroyed my family." Auron was livid now, gritting his teeth in a menacing scowl.

Neji almost laughed, "… Mine too. The main branch …"

"Don't break this into portions!" Auron interrupted, "The Hyuuga is one entity, the main and branch families are separated only by ignorance. In the end, all decisions are made to benefit both parties, regardless of the sacrifices. … Only stupid children like you believe there is an unbreakable dividing line of power."

"…Liar…" Neji returned a scowl of equal ferocity, Auron raised a fist which shook with fury. He stopped himself as he realized the boy in green had recovered from his earlier barrage, and was now stepping rushing toward him.

Throwing the Hyuuga into the stream, he gripped the boy's fist as it swung toward his chin.

"Your strong you know! That kick earlier almost broke a tooth, eh?"

The boy broke contact and flipped backward. Before rushing again, this time kicking out with his right leg. Auron calmly bent backwards, holding himself in place as the boy flew over his head. Quickly and with precision he fired a chakra filled shell directly into the boy's left side tenketsu point in his neck.

The child continued to glide across the clearing before disappearing into the undergrowth, breaking several branches as his body snapped against them painlessly. Already unconscious.

"You should thank your teammate, Hyuuga. He has some honor, even if he is defending a worthless punk."

Neji took a shaky step from the stream back onto the bank, _'That's not possible… to see the tenketsu with such accuracy, and to use chakra to invade them ... That's a Hyuuga technique'_

"Now … where was I?" removing a pistol from his left side he raised it to the Hyuuga's shaking form. Enjoying the expression he tried to hide, he lowered his gun and fired into the dirt, inches from the boy's feet.

"Heh …. missed…" he shrugged it off, looking at the boy with a sly smile as the dirt in front began to glow slightly.

'_Explosi…!!'_ Neji didn't have time to move as the ground beneath him went up in flames, throwing him further downstream, skimming twice along the surface until he began to sink. He took a moment to breathe, steadying himself on the surface with his hands.

"You're pathetic you know that. For a team which used a trap to get a scroll, you sure are useless at detecting one."

Neji just watched him carefully, breathing heavily. The pain in his right shoulder was beginning to fade. As it was chakra induced there was no physical wound, but he could still feel the underside of his skin burning slightly. He recognized the pain. '… there's no doubt …'

"…. You're a Hyuuga." Neji stated between short breaths, as he pulled himself from the water to stand upon the flowing water.

Auron grimace shattered what was once a beautiful face, his voice became deep and threatening, "You know … just how to get on my nerves, don't you, eh?" he raised his gun again, his arm straight, carefully aiming for a vital organ.

'…_I'll make this bastard suffer!'_

**-End Chapter Four-**

A/N

Anyway the next few chapters are completed, maybe with a few tweaks to be had, if you want to read them PLEASE let me know, it's killing me that so few people have reviewed. Changing the format a tiny bit, just to improve the flow. Also to those following this I apologize for the long wait but I've been reediting these next few chapters over and over again. Mostly this was because I didn't want the story to be too full of my original characters (Though I love them to bits at this point). The first few drafts were just TOO full of my characters and no one else, so I condensed bits and removed some entirely. Especially since this is a NaruHina fiction and I intend to get to it posthaste.

A few dedications in this,

Sujin's pentagrams are on some level a dedication to Full Metal Alchemist.

Auron's constant use of the word, 'eh?' is dedicated to Reno's, 'Yo' from Final Fantasy VII.

If anyone's wondering about Auron's accent it's a mix of lower class English and American.

Finally, the title is a dedication to almost all Naruto anime title's I've seen. In that it starts with one word and then follows it up with a longer title.

Please write me some reviews, seriously give me flames if you want, just proof your reading, and I know you are because I see you in my profile.


	8. Sarutobi's Faith

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

previously….

"…. You're a Hyuuga." Neji stated between short breaths, as he pulled himself from the water to stand upon the flowing water.

Auron grimace shattered what was once a beautiful face, his voice became deep and threatening, "You know … just how to get on my nerves, don't you, eh?" he raised his gun again, his arm straight, carefully aiming for a vital organ.

'…_I'll make this bastard suffer!'_

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 8: Sarutobi's Faith. Maturity, Identity and Mask's.**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

The revolver in his fingers rested impeccably still. His skin shimmered in the afternoon light as his blazing eyes perfected the weapon's accuracy.

3 …

2…

1…

His shot was greeted with a soft and muffled thud … Auron's eyes grew wide behind his dark glasses as he immediately regretted his actions. A single white glove held steady in front of the smoking cannon. The bullet it had fired sat against her open palm and dropped to the floor with a soft 'ping.'

"Sujin-sempai!"

In one swift movement, she stepped forward, holding the revolver in her left hand and forcing his head down to the floor with her right arm, using her right leg to trip him down slowly.

"You realize you could have killed him." she muttered absently, standing up again. Nonchalantly dropping the three broken pieces of the revolver in her left hand, he cursed under his breath as he watched them fall.

"I wasn't going to kill him …" Auron muttered the words without looking up at her from his awkward sitting position, "I was teaching them a lesson."

"I suggest you leave, now, and pray you get far enough away from here, before I'm done apologizing," her voice was interestingly colder than usual, "… your childish grudges sicken me."

"But Su!!!!"

"You there, Neji-san, come here!"

Deciding against objection, knowing full well how cruel his partner could be, Auron fled the scene, not forgetting to grab the remainders of his pistol as he left. He sneered back at the severely beaten boy as he left, immediately adding this embarrassment to his reasons for hating the Hyuuga family.

"Neji-san!"

The Hyuuga boy took a few unstable steps on the water. Dressed completely in white he almost compared the woman to his guardian angel. She crossed her arms and watched him impatiently as he finally reached the edge of the stream.

"I apologize for my comrade," she stated apathetically.

Were he not a Hyuuga and above such things, Neji would have laughed at the short and totally unemotional apology.

"Your teammates should be conscious within the hour. … Consider yourself fortunate that you come from a noble family, and as such have preferential treatment in this exam." She spoke monotonously.

"This … this is preferential treatment?" he motioned to his injuries, and the limp forms of Ten-ten and Lee.

"Considering that you willingly came into contact with and fought an 'exterminator,' … Yes … this is preferential treatment. Any other team would be removed from the test by this point." She held fast to her lacking emotion.

Neji simply grunted, still holding his shoulder, mourning over the many burn marks on his legs from the earlier explosion. When he looked up again, he was alone.

………………**-------------------------………………….**

'_Oh? You're awake again?' _his own voice seeped from the walls of the red tainted room.

"I thought I was already asleep?" he asked.

'_Yes,… but this is partial consciousness, this is the only way I can talk to you. You drifted off for a moment. Was I right in saying that you are the Kyuubi?'_

"Of course not! You're the Kyuubi!"

'_So you agree with me?'_

"What? NO!"

'_This is ….. confusing…'_

………………**--------------------------…………………..**

**.Practice Arena 44. Central Tower. 2 years 8 months prior to incident.**

The fifth and final day of the second test went by incredibly slowly. Team Sujin had been recalled to 'the Tower' to prepare for the preliminaries, as well as report on any findings of the S-class criminal. There were none. Other than Anko's testimony, no one had seen or heard from him since.

"The Chuunin exam will proceed as scheduled. ANBU units must double their current efforts, and will be placed throughout the final examinations in preparation for any … disturbances, caused by Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?" Auron choked slightly on the word, 'No one said it was Orochimaru.'

The Sandaime took a deep breath from his pipe, "Sujin? I will also be relying on your team as additional Anbu forces."

"Hai!" Sujin responded mechanically.

Taisan didn't know what to think at this point, they'd again been invited to a secret Anbu meeting with the Hokage, standing before him in four neat straight lines of sixteen ninjas. 'We're getting pulled into more and more Anbu business … and yet they won't even recognize us as official Jounin.'

'Orochimaru ….' the gunman's thoughts stuck on the legendary Sannin.

"You are dismissed … the Anbu members filed out, Auron, Sujin and Taisan began to follow but stopped when they noticed the four Jounin instructors filing in. They stepped aside to allow them through. Kakashi, Asuma, and Gai nodded politely to them as they walked in. Kurenai however, gripped Taisan by the shoulder and dragged him in front of the Kage.

Pointing rudely at him Kurenai began, "Hokage-sama! Why did this vermin meet my team at the tower?" Taisan winced a little when she said vermin.

"There is a problem?" the Kage didn't smile, but said it with a mirthful voice.

Auron watched from the doorway, frowning as he watched the sword user make no attempt to defend himself. 'He brings it on himself.' He walked out following Sujin.

"For the last time, I'm sorry for what happened to you, but it wasn't me!" Taisan muttered.

She ignored him, "It's not safe for my subordinates to be around this monster."

"Taoru-san has my faith," Sarutobi concluded the conversation.

Kurenai opened her mouth to object but found the words simply wouldn't come.

"Taoru-san, you are dismissed," The Kage said sternly.

He bowed politely and left the room, meeting his teammates in the hall.

Sujin stayed at the doorway for a moment, conversing privately with the Sandaime. The two teens wandered further into the hall aimlessly waiting for her. Auron of course couldn't allow them to wait in silence.

"Damn it she's a bitch, eh?" Auron spoke immediately.

"She's doing what she thinks is best for her team." Taisan responded casually.

"How can you defend that bitch? Eh?"

"… don't know? Comes naturally."

"Jeez, eh? Your no different from when you were a kid." Auron crossed his arms and pouted.

' … _how can HE call me a kid …?'_

……………**----------------………………**

"Sujin-san. I am pleased to see the ravages of time hasn't effected your kind demeanor."

"You flatter me Hokage-sama," she bowed civilly, "… I need to discuss a serious matter with you."

"…hmmm?" the older man had been watching this teams progression for some time now, … the woman had never NEEDED to talk about anything.

"It's Taoru-san. I fear his mentality is at stake."

This WAS a serious matter! But never surprised the Hokage answered calmly and consistently.

"Nani? How so?"

"… It would appear he is having trouble … finding himself. Up until recently he was a very quiet student, … shy."

"He was fearful … after the incident with Kurenai. He became more discreet, … I am aware of this Sujin."

"Hai. Hokage-sama. … However, he has started to … mimic … his teammates. Of late he has alternated between behaving casually and selfishly. Or attempting to behave cruelly and maturely. It is becoming difficult to speculate his personality. It's … very illogical. "

"… hmmm, his reclusive nature could have led to a delayed adjustment to puberty and adulthood."

"As I presumed … this could be dangerous however. These behaviors are only masks as you saw. He reacts violently when he is stressed or agitated, behaviour you would expect from a pre-pubescent, not an Jounin applicant. I … I fear he may never mature appropriately."

"… You 'still' don't believe he's ready to accept the responsibilities of the Jounin?"

She remained silent for a moment. Maturity was essential for a Jounin. An ex-Jounin herself, there wasn't time for a ninja who couldn't ascertain his own identity in the middle of battle.

"…They are still fundamentally selfish. Neither one will pass the third principle."

"There is still time you realize. If you don't believe they are ready, tell me now."

"… There is no need. If they continue their logical paths, they will never pass the third principle."

"Hmmm … I still don't quite understand Sujin. I'm not entirely sure why his mentality will be at risk."

Sujin remained stoic quiet for a few seconds. Mulling over her words.

"… The Jounin examiner of this test. Mitarashi Anko. She has violated the borders of his 'masks.' His maturity has been tested. I'm not sure how long he will be able to suffer it. Or the after effects…."

…………**.-----------------……………….**

They walked a little further in silence until Auron opened his mouth again.

"So I heard you finally got laid?"

Immediately Taisan tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground hard, the hilt of his sword knocking painfully against the back of his skull while his chin grazed the hard floor.

"WHO THE HELL TOLD YOU THAT!" his yells stretched across the tower, no doubt the Hokage heard him as well.

Auron tapped his nose, in a secretive gesture. Auron had been sleeping with women since he was thirteen years old, had a threesome when he was fifteen and spent a majority of his nights off in bars. Most barmen knew better at this point to refuse him alcohol due to his age, as he always bought drinks for any woman who happened to be in his sights. Some bars relied solely on his business to stay afloat. Taisan also suspected that his partner used Doujutsu to increase the alcohols effects.

"It's none of your business, so back off!" Taisan warned, standing up.

"AWW! You poor little prude!" Auron enjoyed pressing his buttons, it was a sign of their friendship.

"Call me that again, and I'll FUCKING KILL YOU!" his anger was palpable at this point, Auron was certain he could have swallowed and felt it drip down his throat. Taisan swearing was always an indication of anger's palpability, the next step was physical violence.

Biting his own finger and smiling wickedly he mouthed, _'…. prude.'_

Before Taisan could lunge at him Sujin flickered in-between the two, her conversation with the Kage interrupted. She swiftly initiated a new conversation.

"Are we betting again this year?"

"Huh?" Taisan couldn't even think straight, his thoughts tied on dislodging sockets from his friend's body.

"Pardon," she corrected him,

He breathed deeply, trying to hide his aggravation, "Pardon?"

"Are we betting again this time?"

"Of course, it's tradition." Auron piped in smiling broadly, he had won the last time. "I'm betting on that Taijutsu user of Team Gai, Rock Lee."

Sujin watched him for a moment, trying to guess his reasoning.

"Physically he's a lot stronger than the others. Plus, he's got good intentions." Auron shrugged.

"So … that's why you didn't 'eliminate' that team?" the brown haired boy asked curiously, his earlier anger 'temporarily' forgotten. Once he had him alone he was sure to remember.

"Nah, cutting out a Hyuuga would be too troublesome anyway. I can just imagine what the Hokage would say if I did. Eh?"

"I guess, … what about you?" Taisan asked of his sensei.

"A boy from the Nara clan, his team is comprised of mostly weaklings, however, they have adapted good team skills."

The two teens shared doubtful looks, "You know its one-on-one fighting, eh?" Auron asked quizzically.

"I am aware." Sujin nodded, "Yourself?"

Taisan brought his hands behind his head, "Haven't really been thinking about it … I'll choose one before the 'Third Test' starts."

………………………………**------------------------------……………………………**

'_You hate her don't you?'_

"Kurenai, of course, she accuses me of crimes I didn't commit… because of you."

'_You don't like many women really, Kurenai, Anko, Hokage … Su.'_

"They make me … uneasy… but there is one I have faith in." he smiled, still annoyed that his body wasn't following his mind's instructions.

'_She is … still a child … you'll hate her when she grows up…'_

……………………**.--------------------------………………………….**

The black screen blurred in a flurry of names as it rotated between them. Several eerie seconds went by as the many Genin watched the screen apprehensively. Sujin, Auron and Taisan stood among the many Jounin and Chuunin observers as they waited patiently for the names to be announced.

'HYUUGA. HINATA vs. HYUUGA. NEJI' the board announced in bold yellow print.

'_OH YES!'_ Auron thought with excitement, barely standing still as he watched the board. '_Hyuuga vs. Hyuuga! DELICIOUS!'_

It was obvious the three were a team, other than standing beside one another, their matching red, blue and white camouflage trousers announced their connections. The preliminaries had already had some promising shinobi go through. Yet Taisan continued to falter on his decision. It would be easy to just pick a strong fighter, one who would make it into the Chuunin ranks. But that wasn't the bet. The bet was picking a ninja who would improve 'after' the Chuunin exam.

Sujin placed very little importance on the shinobi ranks. She claimed that they're still being considered Chuunin was proof the ranks meant nothing. The origins of the bet came from that belief. For the last two years they had picked out Genin who they thought were strongest, regardless of whether they passed the test or not. Realistically, the bet was to judge how much a shinobi improved between tests.

"Just pick that bug one, you know you want to." Auron suggested.

"What's the point in picking an easy one? If their strong now, there's no room for improvement. So I'll lose." Taisan barked, still concentrating on the many remaining Genin in the stands, while still considering the ones who'd been taken away in stretchers.

Two characters stepped onto the field, each dressed in white, with dark coloured hair and pale eyes.

"You must be enjoying this, Auron?" Sujin asked politely.

"Of course, the Hyuuga family is so fucked up anyway. Why not make cousins fight each other?" He smiled greedily.

A few rounds were exchanged between the two, it took a while for Taisan to realize one of the two was the odd girl who'd called him 'Sir' when he took them for a meal.

"That's Juuken style right?" he asked the boy beside him.

"Yeah." The gunman replied.

"How come you never use that? All the ninja's here look pretty impressed by it." Taisan pondered this as his eyes watched the many Jounin and Chuunin around him, all captivated by the blue blaze which issued from the young Hyuuga's palms.

"I cut my bonds with the Hyuuga …. b'sides, there's plenty of stronger styles, I can copy with these eyes." Auron's response was cold, with a hint of bitterness.

Taisan waited a moment before hazarding a guess, "… You can't do it … can you?

Auron never responded.

……………**--------------------……………..**

They continued to watch the two for a few minutes, it was becoming clear who the victor was going to be. Really ... it was a very uneventful match. Too much talking, not enough jumping around and screaming.

"Great! That little punks gonna win … not my day, eh?" Auron turned to face his two teammates and found Taisan's eyes were wide and shaking. "… T-Taisan?"

"T-Tell me … you see that!" he spoke without turning his eyes fixated on the match, as the girl desperately tried to stand.

"What?" he asked, a little worried.

"You're the one with the 'eyes!' Tell me you see that!"

Activating his doujutsu he watched the boy carefully, measuring his movements. "He's just standing there, chakra level's average, control's average, regular Hyuuga."

"Not that one! I can feel it in the air! How can you not see it?" he gripped his friend's wrist, urging him to understand.

"See what?"

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing rudely.

Turning to face the girl he watched her, "… nothing special."

"Check her circulatory system. What way's the chakra traveling?" he tightened his grip a little.

"Umm…" he watched a little more carefully, making veins appear around his eyes, "…clockwise"

"Alright, now wait!"

Once again Hinata issued a flurry of open palms, this time, no chakra issued forth to injure the opponent, no matter how much she willed it. Neji fired a large and powerful strike to her stomach, she once again fell, this time, Auron was confident she wouldn't stand.

He turned back to Taisan, still unsure what he should be seeing, "What the hell was …"

He was cut off as a blond ninja from the raised balcony yelled down at the instructor.

"DON'T STOP IT!!!"

Offended, Auron looked up at him, peeved. How dare this blond shit cut him off.

"Now!" Taisan spoke, bringing back his attention. He was smiling in self congratulation, "I choose her."

Looking back to his teammate Auron stood with his mouth agape, "Huh? NANI? Why?"

"What way is the chakra traveling?"

"I told you clockwise!"

"Look!" He turned to the blond teen, smirking proudly.

A little unnerved, Auron obeyed hesitantly, _'… No way! ….That's not … possible!'_

"Well?..."

Auron gulped loudly before speaking, slowly and carefully "… anti-clockwise!"

………………………………**---------------------------------…………………………..**

The red light was beginning to hurt his eyes now.

"What the hell are you talking about! I'll never hate her!"

'_She didn't do what you asked, remember? You failed your promise because of her.'_

"…."

'_You change your own identity when you are around people. That is why now, when you are with no one but yourself, you cannot see yourself when he is speaking to you."_

"…."

'…_And because you tried to change her, what you were really trying to do … was change yourself … because you're … selfish…'_

………………**.--------------------………………………..**

"That's not true, Neji-niisan. Because I can see it …" her breaths were heavy with fatigue, completely worn out, "… It's not me at all."

Taisan continued to smirk watching the scene before him. Auron simply stared with an open mouth, Sujin seemed completely indifferent to the situation, and like the other ninja, clueless to the events taking place in the young girl.

"The person lost and suffering, within the destiny of the Main and Branch Houses, … Is you…"

Neji snapped, his eyes filled with murderous killing intent as he thrust forward, arms limp by his sides, prepared for a finishing strike. The instructor, Hayate, yelled for him to stop, but the plea fell on deaf ears, as the boy hurtled at the girl.

To Taisan the next few moments became a blur as he dashed onto the field, dragging his two teammates with him. When the dust settled an impressive circle of protection formed around the young Hyuuga heiress.

Hayate-san stood directly before Neji, his back to the girl, using two fingers to hold him at bay while the other hand half formed a seal to break the chakra attack from the boys hand. Kakashi-sempai stood at the boy's side, firmly gripping the boys arm with one hand, the other he kept in his pocket in a calm nonchalant manner. Gai-san stood behind the boy, his whole left arm wrapped around his neck, while the right held the back of his jacket. Kurenai knelt on the floor opposite Kakashi, tightly holding Neji's left arm as it rested against his side.

Sujin stood behind Hayate, her back to him, while she watched the boy over her shoulder, being a tall woman she found no problem in seeing directly over the smaller instructor. Auron, annoyed that he'd been pulled into this, stood close to Sujin, neither blocking what could have been the Hyuuga's path nor offering assistance, arms crossed in a childish pout. Taisan had been the first on the floor and was holding the Hyuuga girl tightly in his arms, using his back as a shield from the onslaught, his face inches away from her left cheek. He winced as he felt blood trickle from her mouth onto his shoulder.

"Get away from her!" Kurenai had left the older boy when she heard Hinata's softly vomit blood. Pulling on Taisan's shoulder. He looked up at her, unmoving for a moment, before resigning and allowing the older woman to check her student.

She pushed him aside angrily, laying the girl done and checking her heartbeat. Taisan watched for a few moments, twitching slightly in both anger and concern.

"In the end, a loser is a loser…" he caught the tail-end of Neji's conversation, 'They cannot change."

Taisan turned to face him, fully prepared to suffer the penalty for beheading a Genin in front of a large crowd, before he realized another boy had already picked a fight with him. The same one who had yelled out encouragement not moments early.

He breathed deeply a few times, not allowing his emotions to get the better of him. He watched as Hinata was hauled away on a stretcher, noticing that her sensei had not followed her. Taking a final look back at the boy who committed such atrocities, he followed after the young girl.

'…_Bully!'_ he thought grimly.

………………………**.-------------------------------……………………………..**

Talking with this apparition was actually beginning to physically hurt him. He felt his very consciousness being stretched, like a terrible migraine.

'… _we think we're a God … don't we?'_

"What?"

'… _You fear falling from grace. That is why you hate women … and what they are capable of.'_

"…no."

"… _you fear the disgusting acts that pass between man and woman … she made you this way, didn't she? The first bully you met, … the woman in red!'_

………………………**..--------------------------------…………………………..**

Only a few minutes had passed, Taisan had followed the medical nin's with the girl, nervous to let his new found talent out of sight. Auron had loyally followed him, Sujin followed too, though she hinted that she would have preferred to watch the final combatants. Kurenai had stayed behind. Auron was sure it had something to do with Taisan, but he didn't ask. Now they were all standing in a small makeshift waiting room, watching the girl and the various nin's through a large plastic window.

"Some gambler you are, eh? You bet on someone, a minute later she's rushed to infirmary! eh?"

Taisan didn't reply still watching as the medic-nins continued to send electrical shocks into her body, desperately trying to increase her heart rate before it stopped. He cracked his knuckles tensely as he watched the 'electrocardiograph' rise and fall in the next room, holding his breath each time the jagged lines thinned out to become smooth..

"Aren't you going to check on your bet?" the brown haired teen asked, not really curious, just trying to converse. Still watching through the window.

"Nah! I'm confident he'll be fine. He fought me and lived after all!" Auron joked from his side, leaning casually against the windowsill..

"Why … are we here?" Sujin asked, trying to hide obvious curiosity. Her teammates had never shown any interest in the Genin at any other Chuunin exam, they were selfish, for individual reasons.

"Tai's found an interesting kid." Auron explained.

"Interesting?"

"I think she's stronger than she looks" Taisan explained, purposefully leaving out the unique ability he had found. Sujin didn't need further explanation.

"If she dies … it will be a waste?" her voice was icy again.

Both teens nodded slightly.

Taisan looked at her with pleading eyes, seeking approval.

"Alright, … I'll help." she sighed, stepping forward and into the room, pushing away any Medical ninja's who happened to be in her path. Taisan and Auron followed having the same effect. Grinning proudly.

"HEY! You can't be in here!"

"Move … or die!" her icy voice shook the man as he stepped sideways and into a corner. Sujin continued to glare at him for a few moments, turning her head across her shoulder to continue her frosty glare. Finally she turned her attention to the girl who lay unconscious on the hospital bed.

Wasting no time, Sujin pushed away the electrical equipment, which embedded into the girl's skin, several of them breaking as they hit the floor below. Each needle made a sickening 'pop' as it was pulled from beneath the child's skin.

"We're going to heal the organ's best we can, that should get her heart temporarily beating, once that is done, it's up to you to make sure it stays that way" she informed the other medical ninjas who were still cowering in their respective corners.

Raising her right hand over the girl's body, parallel with her chest. The inside of her palm, and the pentagram imprinted on the glove glowed gently, created a large aura over the girls body. Another pentagram directly over her torso.

"Auron? the direction?" Taisan asked him, paying no mind to Sujin's questioning look. It wasn't like him to keep a secret from his sensei, but this was something he wanted to himself.

The veins on his eyes bulged as he inspected the girl, "It's clockwise! Hurry, eh? The hearts stopped completely now!"

"Taisan!" Sujin motioned for him to begin.

"Right!" He stood level with the girls head, standing next to Sujin, wasting no time he placed his right hand on the older woman's right elbow and forced his own chakra into hers.

Sujin winced slightly as the purple chakra coursed from her fingertips, making the pentagram on the girls chest glow a fiery red. Demonic chakra.

Though unconscious, Hinata screamed, loudly! Shaking unnaturally and violently! The medic ninjas stared in disbelief, some crying as they felt the chakra flowing through the room, visibly spreading across the countertops like a misty eel.

"NANI!?" Auron exclaimed loudly in disbelief, "She's having an orgasm?!?!"

"It's a mental fit you moron!" Taisan informed impolitely, straining from the pain in his right arm as the chakra flowed from him. Already he could see a deep rash spreading along forearm.

A few seconds passed as windows began to crack from the pressure, the girls screaming didn't give out as her body shuddered and trembled in 'its' presence.

"Taisan, … I can't do this right, … if she's moving. I have your permission to save this girl's life?" Sujin asked a little rattled by the obscene amount of chakra pulsing between her and the young girl. The air itself was crackling with purple demonic chakra at this point.

"Of course!" he yelled in her ear over the screaming girl!

"By 'any' means necessary?" she emphasized the 'any' but Taisan simply didn't notice.

"Yes! Just do it!" he couldn't help but wonder why she was asking him, but found his answer soon enough.

Taisan didn't realize what happened until it was over. In one of her signature swift movements, Sujin had brought her left hand behind his head and forced him onto the young girl, forcing their lips to touch. … a kiss. Taisan stayed deadly still for a moment, as the girl's screaming ceased and her breathing returned to acceptable levels. He still gripped his teammates arm as she continued issuing chakra through her pentagram.

He raised slowly, his brain still processing the events.

As the girl began breathing more steadily, and on her own, Sujin stopped the jutsu and calmly ushered the medic-nins to take over. Passing between them she walked calmly from the room, ignoring the praise of the medical ninja's and their words claiming she was a 'miracle worker.'

Auron watched the sword-wielder with wide eyes. A smirk slowly began to emerge on his face as he contemplated the years of friendly teasing he could use this for. He laughed audibly as he saw the teen's eyes narrow and face turn pale as he bolted after the woman, bouncing off the hallways wall as he turned the corner.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS …" he yelled furiously, arm already gripping the hilt of his sword.

"She was suffering hallucinations," she interrupted, her voice wooden and impartial, "… probably brought on from injuries, and the foreign chakra in her body. I couldn't complete the jutsu if she was moving, so I used your natural defense to force her into a deeper state of lost consciousness. Saving her life. It was the best logical action." She didn't turn to face him still walking quickly through the narrow wooden passageway.

"… BUT YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO …"

Again she cut him off, "Your lips are naturally capable of restraining those suffering dementia. Use it as a tool and don't behave so childishly that you can't see your ability for the tool it is. Don't hold it to yourself, … that would be selfish."

"…LISTEN YOU OLD HAG! THAT WAS …"

"I apologize for not informing you prior," her interruptions were getting annoying now, "… however, you would have objected, causing the girl to die."

"…. THERE WERE BETTER OPTIONS FOR A TWELVE YEAR OLD …"

She didn't interrupt with words this time, instead spinning on her heel and punching him square in the face. He flew down the corridor, bumping over a few gurneys and other medical equipment. His nose bled badly, broken.

"I suggest you calm down, and think through the situation." Her words were no different from before, just as calm and emotionless, "Yelling and creating an uproar wont help. Were our roles reversed, you would do the same thing …. It's logical."

He sat in silence for a moment as she glared at him.

"……… Grow Up! …the world won't stop every time one of your mask's is broken… Taisan-CHAN… The world is too logical."

He watched as she calmly walked away, pushing past various men and women who came to watch the scene. Came to watch a brat getting punished.

"She's getting worse y'know, eh?" Auron smiled offering him a hand. Taisan wasn't sure when he had flickered beside him, but accepted his help all the same.

"What do you mean?" he asked holding back his head as blood trickled from his nose down his lips.

"She's becoming more mechanic … less human. It's a subtle change … but it's there."

"She was always a bitch anyway!" Taisan lied, caught up in his own rage. He grabbed a few tissues from a knocked over medical tray and dabbed at his nose, "… she's a first-class teacher, but a rotten friend."

He rubbed at his lips again, as two different streaks of blood stained his jacket.

'…_. there WERE … other options …'_

……………………………**------------------------------………………………………**

'…_were your roles reversed … it seems you hate her for a different reason, hmm?'_

"I'm not like her, I would have handled it differently." Taisan calmly stated, totally unsurprised that the being had seen his thoughts.

'You fear becoming a machine, like her? Or do you respect her because she isn't troubled by … such things?'

"Neither …"

'…'

"I just … I just … wanted to be better than her, … just once …"

……………**.----------------------…………………**

**End Chapter 8**

……………**.----------------------…………………**

**a/n**

Thanks for reading and please review.

Long A/N not necessary for enjoyment of story.

Anyway, regarding the person who is now my second favorite critic, basically his/her review said that my fiction contained too many OC's, AND that they were too powerful. I.e. Power Mary Sues. I agree with the critic, he's totally correct in that my OC's are overly powerful. Or at least one of them is, but there is a reason for that. As for why my fic contains OC's at all it is because I don't think I could create a whole story using just Naruto characters. If I did I'd have to change something to give them a direct problem which would have to be solved. By having OC's I can do whatever I want to them. If anyone has any comments on this or how I could improve them I'd love to hear it. And also if anyone has any questions about my OC's feel free to ask.

If I'm to explain the strength of the OC's it would go like this.

The Naruto Universe is FULL of Illogically powerful characters, Akatsuki, Orochimaru, Naruto on a bad day, damn near all of the filler baddies, and there are lots of them.

In Sujin's case, she's overly powerful because she's based primarily on an extremely powerful character. Also, (provided I don't change her history down the line, she has some DAMN good reasons to be so strong, no hints at this point). If there is a Power Mary Sue (heheh Sue, Sue-jin … coincidence?) in the fic, SHE IS IT!

Taisan isn't really that powerful, in fact he's emotionally flawed in many areas, and although I haven't said it yet, drawing on the 'Bijuu' power actually hurts him … unlike Naruto. Plus he can't heal like Naruto can automatically, he has to physically force the chakra to do it. Also in terms of actual physical strength he's probably about as strong as Kakashi is. I admit on the first chapter I enjoyed playing him up as being a really powerful BEING rather than a person, but like all BEING's there is a human side to him.

Auron on the other hand, is skilled, but not illogically powerful, or at least I hope not. If anyone thinks I'm taking his abilities (or anyone else's) too far, let me know. As far as his personality he's also got some emotional flaws, but doesn't really believe they are. Later down the line you'll get what I mean.

Really it's a matter of them all being strong physically, but not emotionally stable. If anyone's watched Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, it's kind of like Cloud's dilemma.

I'm glad someone could point this out, and really it's just because I can't control my own imagination that it turned out like this. Sigh. Hope your still enjoying this one. As always review, it's flames that I love the most, because I really want to better myself and the fic in general.

Can't think right off the bat of any dedications in this one but there we're probably a few. If anyone spots one let me know. As a side not did anyone spot the Anti-Anko reference on Taisan's part? I didn't want it to be glaringly obvious, but it would be good if someone noticed.

We're pretty close to the end of the Chuunin Exam flashbacks. Just one more chapter.

Reviews very much appreciated.


	9. Be My Understudy?

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

**a/n:**

**No updates till I have at least 5 reviews. Sorry to be cruel. But if it's not worth reviewing it's not worth uploading till I've got the whole story done. Or at least a good five chapters.**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

previously….

"She's becoming more mechanic … less human. It's a subtle change … but it's there."

"She was always a bitch anyway!" Taisan lied, caught up in his own rage. He grabbed a few tissues from a knocked over medical tray and dabbed at his nose, "… she's a first-class teacher, but a rotten friend."

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 9: Be my Understudy? Impatience.**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

**.1.5km South-East of Konoha Borders. 2 years 6 months prior to incident.**

It was beautiful on the lake, very quiet and very calm. It wasn't a lake exactly, the water didn't move or connect anywhere to a greater source, more of a giant pond really. Complete with lily pads, reeds, and that weird green stuff that looks like stable dirt until you stand on it and sink. Taisan could see why the girl would choose to train here, it was isolated, but also within safe distance of Konoha should the worst occur. She'd been standing on the water for a few hours now, using her palms to summon the water around her in a sphere. He couldn't say he'd ever seen that type of chakra control exercise before, but it seemed to be working, it was definitely benefiting her control, but her stamina….

He'd been following her around a fair bit since he'd returned from his missions. After the death of the Third Hokage and the Election of the Fifth, his team had been sent on every S class mission that came up. The downside of finally graduating to Jounin he'd assumed. Something in part he owed to her.

Either way, he hadn't a chance to speak with his new found talent, in quite some time. To be blunt, he hadn't spoken to her at all. Kurenai had made every effort to force their paths apart, often recommending him for missions to the village's elder council, usually before he'd returned from the one before. Without a Kage every mission was being accepted, and there wasn't time for breaks just to speak with a little girl. However, this time he had found her completely unprotected, and was fully prepared.

Taisan still hadn't come to terms with the 'forced' contact between the two of them, anyway, it had given him a little time to think and he was thankful for that. Enough time to get it out of his system and acknowledge that Sujin had a point. It also gave him time to fuel his desire to better her.

……………**..------------------------…………………….**

Hinata let out a heavy gasp as she felt the last of her strength escape through her fingers. She fell backward into the water and floated calmly on the placid, rocking of the current. Too tired to care how waterlogged her thick coat might become. Muscles aching, she gazed up at the star speckled night sky, enjoying the chance to rest. With worn muscles and her chakra completely molded, there was no way she could run back to the village in time for sleep. Meaning she wouldn't make it back till morning.

'_P-perhaps I could sleep out here?'_ she thought to herself, knowing full well her father would scold her for leaving the village at night, not to mention trying to practice a technique other than Juuken.

She lay there a few more moments, watching as steam seeped through her exhausted limbs and ascended into the night sky. She drifted gently towards the water's edge, using her fingertips to guide her a little, until her head hit something … something hard.

' … _a-ano?'_ with some effort she turned her eyes upward to see what she was sure would be some risen mud pile, or floating trash.

She quickly realized however that it was a man's boot. And as luck would have it, a man was connected. Silently she allowed her body to sink, trying to evaluate the situation. The man made no move to stop her as she descended under the surface.

'…_A-an e-enemy ninja … h-here?'_ she thought miserably, as a Hyuuga her fate would no doubt be to have her eyes forcibly removed from their sockets, _'Wh-what should I do….?'_

She'd been in a similar situation once before when she was little. Two men had died because of it, and all she could do was cry. As her body hit the lake's bottom softly, she saw small tear bubbles float to the surface.

'…_I … I cant be this weak….'_

She could barely see the man's faint outline against the reflected moonlight on the water, with no chakra to activate the Byakugan, this was the best she could do.

He wasn't doing anything …. just standing there. She prayed silently that he'd not seen her.

'_How couldn't he have? I was a floating sphere of water a moment ago!'_ she scolded herself, while accidentally breathing in the remaining oxygen in her mouth.

'_Wh-What can I do….? I'll have to … s-surrender. … ohhh! how could I not have seen him!!'_

'… _Why … why me? Why does this have to happen? … I'm always … so … so useless…'_

As her blood began to slow without oxygen, for a brief moment she was sure she heard 'his' voice in the water. It was garbled and distorted but it was…encouraging her, she couldn't hear the words, but the feeling from it was indescribable. Like … confidence, faith, reassurance all molded into one. Just like at the Chuunin exam. Deep within her bowels she felt chakra begin to mold with the feeling, urged on by that faith.

'_I … I mustn't run away ……..…na-naruto-kun…!'_

………………**.-------------------------………………………..**

Taisan stood on the water serenely a few moments. He'd purposefully stopped the girl from floating right into shallower waters. Although a rude awakening, it would be better than letting her drift into the pit viper which had been sloppily ducking above and beneath the pond's surface. As an ambush predator that usually comes out at night he wouldn't be surprised if the bastard had been waiting for her.

He continued to watch the snake, hypnotized, as it slithered in the waters to his left. Momentarily forgetting the 'drowning' girl he had specially come out to see.

"Go on you pest, get out of here! Stupid snake! I should use you as a …!!! … Killing Intent?!"

Taisan turned abruptly just in time to see the splash after the girl had burst from the waters depths and witness two blue aura'd palms collide with his chest, aimed perfectly to slip beneath his ribcage.

Time stood still for a moment as the two watched each other. The Jounin kept his arms at his side, not yet entirely aware of what had just happened. Dumbly, gazing at the veins which etched menacingly across the girls face. Hinata waited, hands still pressed against his boy's blue jacket, refusing to look up as she hoped his legs would buckle and fall. The aching in her legs was already beginning to return.

Taisan couldn't say he'd ever fought someone who'd used Juuken, the impact was numbing at first, but quickly replaced with a strong burn under the skin. Definitely similar to Auron's attacks, but it struck deeper.

Aware he wasn't going to fall after one attack, she recoiled and prepared to let out a following strike with her right arm. To her horror, her left was leg no longer able to maintain balance and submerged under the water, making her fall toward her enemy rather than attack. She mentally envisioned his next move …

'_H-He's g-going to knee me in the f-face!!'_

Instead, he gripped her attacking wrist firmly, as she began to fall forward, both keeping her afloat and restraining her. A little surprised, but still confident, she swung out with her left arm, only to have her wrist once again firmly restrained.

Not interested in waiting for the girl to resort to groin aimed kicks, Taisan twisted her left arm up and over her head, bringing it down until her palm touched the back of her neck. The right arm he simply twisted down and behind her back without much fanfare, calmly standing behind her as he waited for her to calm down.

She didn't scream or yell like he had expected, … Hyuuga pride he presumed, … but instead twisted in his grip, desperate for freedom. This continued for several minutes until she fell silent, her heart beating rapidly and her earlier exhaustion re-established.

"…Do you have any clue…?" he asked calmly, "…. what you just did?"

She didn't respond, but let out a short 'eep' in surprise as she felt his grip loosen until she was placed calmly on top of the water, facing away from him. It wasn't long before she began to sink, straight downward. Taisan restrained a laugh poorly within his teeth, not surprised that the energy she'd drawn upon had left her so suddenly. He grabbed the hood of her coat and pulled her up out of the water just before her shoulders breached the surface and strode calmly over to the bank. Not forgetting to note how much he felt like a lioness holding it's cub. A metaphor he was sure he could use later on, should she agree to his preposition.

………………**.----------------------------…………………..**

'_Th-This is so hu-humiliating ……'_

She desperately wanted to move, … move anything! Her toes if she could. But it was useless. After hours of exerting chakra through her palms, as well as balancing on the water, not forgetting cloaking her presence enough to sneak up and attack her mysterious opponent, … she was truly spent.

"Well? I asked you a question didn't I?"

"…"

Ceremoniously she felt herself be placed in a seating position against a large mossy rock. As he crouched down in front of her she finally got a decent view of his face.

"Y-YOU!!!"

He smiled, glad she at least recognized him. It would make what he had to ask so much simpler. "Hi! Good to see you too."

"Fr-from the chuu-…!"

"Yep, that's me, Nawaki Ta …..Taisan"

If Kurenai had mentioned him, Taoru would definitely be the name she chose he decided. They could cross that bridge later.

Realizing her life was 'probably' no longer in danger, the girl relaxed as much as she could with a completely numb body. However, she soon found a new anxiety …

"M-my f-father sent y-you…?"

"N-nope fr-fr-freelance." he joked with her, copying the stutter. "I'll have to do something about that stutter of yours."

"…. ano…?"

"I don't know if you realize this, but it turns out I owe you a big favor."

"… m-me?"

"Apparently the 'Third Principle' of the Jounin test involves the ability to show human concern for those of lower rank. Thus, ensuring an active Jounin would protect subordinates." Taisan recited from what he remembered of the Sandaime's private conversation with him.

Hinata's mind flashed briefly to the person who'd held her as she vomited blood onto his shoulder.

"…y-you…"

"Anyway," he interrupted, "… Seeing as I'm now a Jounin, it seems I'm supposed to live up to that principle and train a team of three Genin. 'But' …. since it's your fault I've been given this annoying chore, I think 'you' should take the blame and stand in for those three Genin."

Hinata sat dumbstruck for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he was saying. She wasn't entirely sure if she was being rewarded or punished.

'… I asked you earlier, if you knew what you had just done. Right?"

Hinata could only nod.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure either, for someone with so little experience to pull of a Kage level technique. Well, it kills me really as I've been trying for years to pull it off."

Hinata opened and closed her mouth a few times, each time forgetting what word she was going to start with. Needless to say, this was a lot to take in in thirty seconds.

"I'm not surprised you haven't realized it, but you're using level one of a jutsu called 'Chakra Recycling,'" he had an almost unquenchable desire to go into the details but held himself in case he frightened her.

"…Ch-chakra … recycling?"

"Uh-huh! It's a theorized technique where the user reverses the Chakra flow through the body, un-molding used chakra and reusing it. Although the number of times you could pull it off is probably limited. …So what do you say?"

"…ano … to what?"

"To being my understudy of course!"

"… u-understudy …?"

"I'll become your new sensei, and I'll train you how to use that new technique of yours, maybe a few others too if you ask politely," Taisan mentally took a moment to imagine the young girl speaking in an impolite tone.

"… b-but Kurenai-sensei …?"

"We'll keep it our secret, kay?"

Hinata sat quietly for a moment, frowning softly. The teen guessed she needed more convincing.

"Hinata? That's your name right?"

She nodded slowly.

"Do … do you have a dream, Hinata?"

She took a good long while to think through the question, blushing slightly as a certain blonde Genin flashed through her mind. Resolute she answered.

"I-I w-want … I dr-dream to be … a strong ninja … wh-who will bring pr-pride to my family, … and m-my friends … and one day … my Hokage."

Taisan smiled warmly at this, using his left arm to brush some stray hair from her forehead, "Here's the deal then, I promise … to make that dream a reality. … Okay? A little known fact about me is that when I make a promise, I keep it, even if it costs my life. A bad habit my sensei taught me."

Hinata tilted her head leaning into his fingertips which were still brushing her hair, an unconscious action from which he recoiled and stood up.

"So…" he grunted as he stood, "…. since I just made a promise, I'm afraid it's out of your hands now. You can either be my student, and I'll train you directly. Or I'll find another way to make you the pride of your family. Your choice."

There was another long awkward wait, during which two vipers wrestled loudly in the water behind them.

"Wh-why would you d-do this … for m-me?"

Taisan turned away, pretending the two wrestling snakes had suddenly decided the fate of the universe, "…. I told you, I owe you a favor."

Realizing she wouldn't be satisfied with this he continued.

"Plus you're an infectious runt who I haven't been able to stop thinking about since the Chuunin exams …."

"…a-arigatou…"

"I meant that in the nicest possible way! … Look, you have obvious talent that would be wasted if I don't help you." He begged her mentally to understand.

"… ta-talented? … m-me?" she tipped her head forward bashfully, staring at her limp legs.

"Anyway, this is a fair bit to take in I guess. You should probably sleep, right? I'll take you home tomorrow morning."

Hinata jumped at this, "Y-You'll be seen!"

"heheh, not with my jutsu." he stopped to mutter to himself, "I suppose I'll have to teach her that too. She'll have to know how to beat them? Not to mention Neji-chan."

"Wh-who? Sensei?"

"Nobody!" Taisan jerked, "…Forget I said anything, … hey you called me sensei?"

"…a-ano … should I call you 'sir'?" she didn't mean to be offensive, in fact she was trying to be nice, but the look on his face immediately came to annoyance.

"………………. Just go to sleep! …runt..."

………………**.-----------------------------…………………..**

Down one of many identical hospital hallways, Naruto banged his head harshly, loudly and repeatedly against a solid brick wall.

"HOW! … 'thud' … LONG! … 'thud' … IS! … 'thud' … THIS! … 'thud' … GOING! … 'thud' … TO! … 'thud' … TAKE!"

"Can't tell," Tsunade yawned from a nearby chair, cross-legged and leaning backward onto a pile of old magazines, "… I knew he wouldn't be ready to talk yet, even being awake was a surprise. I guess he'll be sleep asleep for a few hours yet."

"Then why did you bring us here!" Naruto moaned, head still leaning against the wall.

"Because YOU pissed me off!" Tsunade barked pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"... well how come he was awake when we went in?" the fifteen-year-old whined.

Jiraiya decided to field that one, "He was probably concerned and his will wouldn't let him sleep, so he got up and made a nuisance of himself. Till he found out she was alright and then, …poof! … out like a light."

"…she? Ohhhh! Hinata right?" Shizune butted in, "When he saw us come in with her … yes … that makes sense. I was surprised he was conscious myself."

"Or …." Tsunade smiled sneakily, "It could have been whatever you two were doing before we came in …"

"WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!" Shizune practically screamed before reprimanding herself, "… ano … I was bringing him something to eat…"

Shizune's blush deepened as both Sannin's continued to stare at her until she sat down and turned to Naruto.

"So where were the two of you anyway? We couldn't find you for a while back there." her fake curiosity was obvious but the teen didn't pick up on it, instead responding a little halfheartedly.

"Meh! Some hotel down south." he shrugged before making what was probably his hundredth monotonous walk to circular window of the sword bearer's room. Checking on the two supposedly 'missing-nin', "What's Hinata doing anyway?"

"I don't know, you tell me?" Tsunade responded, still giving Shizune a sly look. To which she asked why she wasn't picking on Naruto for being alone in a hotel room with a girl.

"I think she's fallen asleep in the chair," he muttered, before going into a teary whine, "… will we have to wait for her to wake up too?"

"Tsunade?" Jiraiya interrupted, "… I'd like you to repeat the details … of 'the mission' … if you don't mind."

The blonde woman's eyes opened wide, "With 'him' here as well?!" she almost choked on the absurdity.

"I'll just tell him later anyway," this earned him a fiery stare from the two Kunoichi, "… b'sides it's partially to do with him anyway."

"What's to do with me?" Naruto asked over his shoulder, still watching the back of Hinata's head rise and fall on the older man's chest, her long dark hair draping over her coat on the chair..

"Fine!" Tsunade shot air through her nose, crossing her arms and switching her legs. "… If your gonna be like that, it's best he hear it from me."

Annoyed that the teen wasn't even paying attention, she threw a magazine at the back of his head and used her finger to bring him onto the floor.

"About two years ago, not long after you yourself left with this pervert!" she twitched her head in the man's direction, "A small congregation of missing ninja was established in the deserts of the wind country."

Naruto's eyelids automatically begun to droop at what sounded like a very boring history lesson.

"The Rock Village presented us with an ultra high class mission, one which was above the class systems. If we complied with the mission the relationship between our two countries would be maintained. Since Konoha was still recovering from Orochimaru's assault at the time, more allies were exactly what our country needed."

"… the rock village?" Naruto asked, resulting in another magazine, a 'Cleo,' hitting his face.

"It's the ninja village for the Land of Earth you numskull!" she scowled, "… anyway, the point is at the time the Missing-Nin were just a small congregation of about twenty or so people, and weren't a real threat. … Kind of like the missing-nin you encountered in the Wave country a few years back."

Naruto nodded, muttering something about a senile old granny under his breath, but remembering Zabuza and Haku as well as Gato's many other associates.

"The mission … we were presented with … was to send one of our best ninja into the encampment as a spy, for an extended period of time."

"Why would they want that?" Shizune pondered aloud.

"… how extended?" Jiraiya's voice was gruff, not letting the woman miss any details.

"… Three years," she sighed. Jiraiya grunted in approval.

"So who'd you send?" Naruto asked genuinely.

Silence. …….

The two older women stared at the teen in disbelief, while Jiraiya rubbed his forehead, suppressing memories of Naruto's legendary stupidity.

"T-Taoru …. we sent Taoru …."

"OH! … Yeah, of course …. That makes sense," Naruto nodded in a way that would have suggested deep thought, had he just not proved himself incapable a moment before.

Tsunade accidentally broke the arm of her chair as her fingers twitched in aggravation, a deep vein appearing on her forehead.

"Anyway …" she went on "… Not long after … Taoru, joined their ranks. They were forced out of the Wind country and between the borders of the Earth and Fire countries."

"At the time," Jiraiya interrupted, "… it was recorded as a coincidence … finding an unused castle between our two countries … however, it seems the castle was prepared by the Earth Country to begin with."

Naruto didn't ask any questions, even though this was all new to him. He'd never been good with politics, not when gut reactions were usually so much easier to understand.

"Skipping a few years, the Missing-nin had grown to a population of about two hundred ninja, plus several more hundreds of farmers and miners."

"Miners?" Naruto mumbled halfheartedly.

Again Jiraiya went into more detail, "The base of the mountain the castle is built on turned out to be full of gold. As well as some other expensive minerals."

"Although the Rock Village is now denying it, 'if' it was planned for the missing-nin to expand and create their own village, giving them a castle with a gold mine beside it … well, people are greedy …" Shizune said the last part very quietly, nervously glancing at Tsunade.

"That's not the half of it," Tsunade continued, oblivious to the dark haired woman's comment, "… if there were Rock Shinobi posing as Missing-Nin, as we have assumed, they purposefully voted Taoru-san into being their leader."

"…When a kid as strong as that is announced a Kage, people tend to pay attention." Jiraiya muttered, leafing through a Women's Underwear magazine he'd found on the table separating himself and Tsunade.

This gave Naruto an opening for a question he had been hoping to bring up. Since seeing the man at the borders he was undeniably different. He was coated in chakra then, thick purple stuff which came off his body like steam. He'd only ever seen anything like that … in himself. But the Taoru in the other room …

"What IS Taoru-san anyway?!" Naruto queried sheepishly.

The three adults didn't answer. Jiraiya buried his nose in the magazine. Shizune stared at her toes, while Tsunade hid her mouth behind her fingertips, staring intently at him.

Finally she answered, "He is … the first child … to be exposed to the Nine Tailed Fox."

"Huh?!"

"I don't know the details, … well no one does. But … the Yondaime tried to seal the Kyuubi into Taoru-san before he sealed it into you. It was a weaker seal and it failed, instead only sealing a shadow of the Nine Tails into the child's left lung."

"…. eh?"

"It probably failed because the seal wasn't powerful enough, as it didn't take the Yondaime's life directly afterward," Tsunade tried to explain, "Or perhaps because Taoru was three years old at the time and couldn't contain it."

"Either way," Jiraiya continued, "… some form of the Kyuubi still resides inside that boy, and although it has only about an eighth of the power as the true Nine Tails, … it's still held as a ferocious beast."

"You knew!" he was furious, Tsunade and Shizune he could understand, but he'd been with Jiraiya for years now, how could it not come up, "… You knew there was another guy like me out there! And you never told me?!"

Jiraiya huffed, "I only found out he was alive yesterday, the kid was 'supposed' to die."

"What?"

Tsunade answered this, "The child was terminally ill 'before' the sealing. I treated him myself. Odds were he wouldn't have lived more than a few months after the Nine Tail's attack. It was a disease from birth where his bones weren't strong enough to survive growth. If there 'was' a reason the Yondaime chose him, it was because the kid was as good as dead anyway."

"… Wow … that's amazing! How come I've never heard about any of this stuff?" Naruto eyes were wide and interested, holding himself up just inches from Tsunade's legs.

"Same reason none of your classmates know about you …"

Naruto waited patiently for someone to continue.

"A lot of people in the village are scared of him because of that 'thing'," Shizune contemplated her own cowardice in entering the room, before she thought of someone else "…. Like Kurenai-san for example."

Hearing the familiar name brought Hinata back to Naruto's thoughts, and he jumped with the new line of thought "Why did you send Hinata with him then?"

"I DIDN'T!!" Tsunade protested, "We didn't even know she was with him, she just went missing as far as we knew!"

Shizune pulled out two folded pieces of paper from her pockets, handing them to Naruto.

'_Excerpts from the bingo book …?'_

One read Nawaki Taoru's the other, Hyuuga Hinata. The pictures were old, Taoru looked away from the camera a little, a faint smile on his lips. He couldn't have been much over fourteen. Hinata's photo looked like it had been taken when she had just gotten through the academy, perhaps earlier. He compared the photos silently. Although Hinata had her fingers together in her custom made habit, they were practically identical. Both nervously smiling and looking away from the camera. The text beneath each photo listed their stats. Including the dates they fled the village.

"How could you not have noticed that they left at the same time?" Naruto questioned suspiciously.

"Oh shut up! We had more important things to worry about. The Hyuuga family was taking care of that matter on their own," the Kage huffed while Shizune tried to motion for her to calm down.

"Man, I have a more recent picture of Hinata than this …" Naruto muttered fingering his trouser pocket for his wallet, "………. nani!? DATTEBAYO!!!"

"What is it?" Jiraiya leaned forward slightly in his chair. He accepted Naruto's 'Dattebayo' was an unconscious reaction he used in almost every situation, the meaning of which he probably didn't understand anymore. Nothing for too much concern.

"GAMA-CHAN'S GONE!!!"

Jiraiya's earlier surprise was quickly replaced with tedium as he slinked back into his chair to watch the boy erratically search his pockets and pack.

"IT WAS RIGHT HERE-TEBAYO!" he moaned angrily throwing a chocolate bar from his back pocket down the hallway.

The bar bounced off the wall and ricocheted into the early morning darkness. From the same direction a thin woman walked into the light, loosely holding the chocolate in her left hand.

"…Naruto-kun I presume? It is most illogical to throw away rations."

……………**--------------------------------………………………….**

**.1.5km South-East of Konoha Borders. 2 years 6 months prior to incident.**

For the sixth time Taisan caught himself just before he'd fallen asleep. Watching the moonlight dance along the lake's surface mindlessly, he sat with knees against his chest beside the sleeping girl. She'd drifted off a while ago now. It was nice, he'd thought, for someone to trust him enough to sleep beside him. Not many people did that, even when Anko had kidnapped him on a daily basis, she never stayed the night.

The fire he'd started continued to burn, crackling quietly as it warmed the girls frozen body. His navy jacket lay over her for extra warmth, leaving him in his thin black shirt in the night air. Taisan could see the few fresh, red stains along the jacket's front, where blood had dribbled between his teeth.

'_For her attack to cause me to bleed, at her age… this might not be as difficult as I thought.'_

He lay back to look up at the sky, subconsciously prodding at his heart with his left hand

'… _but. … if she'd hit me just a little more to the left …'_ he thought apprehensively.

He could feel his eyelids closing again, cursing himself for his lack of self control. Knowing how fast he'd have to run in the morning to get the girl back to her unsullied manor.

'… _it's gonna be fun … trying to beat you. …' _he yawned loudly breaking his train of thought

'…… _Su.'_

……………**.----------------------…………………**

**End Chapter 9**

……………**.----------------------…………………**

a/n

Rest assured this is the last one in a while to be taken from solely the Team Sujin perspective. From now on it should be mostly Naruto Universe characters. HURRAH! I personally can't wait.

The bit where Taisan is telling Hinata that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about her since he saw her at the Chuunin exams is literally my own feelings on when her character was first introduced in the manga. I can safely say I was/am a big Hinata fan in general, but I hated how obsessed I was with her. In many respects I'm still reading the manga because I'm waiting and praying for when she appears again.

The bit where Naruto is banging his head and asking 'How long is this going to take' is what I'm betting anyone reading this is thinking about the Team Sujin based chapter's I've been doing recently.


	10. Sabaku!

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

previously….

'_For her attack to cause me to bleed, at her age… this might not be as difficult as I thought.'_

He lay back to look up at the sky, subconsciously prodding at his heart with his left hand

'… _it's gonna be fun … trying to beat you. …' _he yawned loudly breaking his train of thought

'…… _Su.'_

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

**Promise of Change**

**Chapter 10: Sabaku! Promise me something, Hinata? **

……………**.---------------------…………………..**

The day it all began ….

**. Hidden Village of the Missing-Nin . 8:00 am . 9 ½ hours prior to incident .**

Hinata lolled softly from her sleep and into the warm, fuzzy, blankets of her bed. Her room could only be described as magnificent. Unlike the rest of the castle, her room had been carved elegantly into the mountain's face. In fact, her room was more like an extension of the mountain than a room in the castle. Her ceiling was covered in sculptures …angels, clouds, cherubs, their fingers reached out from the mountain wall as if beckoning her to them. Her bed was a large, Victorian one, traditionally rectangular with thick, heavy, oak bedposts. She smiled innocently as she brushed her long dark hair from the left side of her face. The idea of the cherubs creeping down the bedposts and sneaking into bed with her always made her do that. Such a childish daydream, but funny nonetheless. One of the cherubs she held especially close to her heart, it was smaller than the others, but unlike them it wasn't laughing or looking on curiously. It was grinning confidently with one hand held down toward her in a tight fist. She'd wondered at the time if it was weird, or demented to have carved whisker marks into its cheeks.

She rolled over to face her sensei. As always he lay on the left side of the bed, on his side facing away from her. When the village was still a caravan several of the male shinobi had attempted to court her, in spite of the fact most were almost twice her age. Offended, Taisan had claimed she was his fiancée, much to her initial embarrassment and … after the thought sunk in … his. Either way, to continue the lie they ended up sharing a bedroom. Being the gentlemen, for the first few months her sensei had dutifully slept on the floor. But when the colder weather set in, and she found him constantly yawning during their training sessions from lack of sleep, she tirelessly set about goading him into sleeping beside. It was one of many occasions where she realised how incredibly apprehensive and stubborn he was.

They were two very similar people in some ways. She had been very embarrassed by the prospect of them being engaged, but he hadn't given the notion a second thought. He 'had' been far more embarrassed by the idea of sharing a room, and worse a bed, with her. Something he clearly hadn't thought of when he formed the lie. She wouldn't deny she'd been a little shy about it at first, but she'd come to trust him as an older brother, so it became natural.

Taisan always denied being embarrassed, claiming that 'he' didn't blush like 'she' did. She always retaliated that it was because he had darker skin so it was more difficult to tell. It was always a playful argument that always ended with Hinata pointing out that his eye twitched when he was embarrassed, and was always proved true when his eye twitched as she said it. Then he'd get annoyed and storm out the room. Hinata won a lot of arguments that way.

The dark haired girl chose to get up and eat early. It would be a while before Taisan dragged himself out of bed anyway. She ambled down the torch lit, spiral staircase, and quietly made her own breakfast in the large kitchen. A few early birds were already out and about the kitchen, but they quickly stopped whatever they were doing to greet her. They asked general things, like 'how she was,' 'how her training was coming,' and more importantly when they could expect their 'wedding invitations'. She tactfully 'smiled away' the last question and returned upstairs with her small bowl of oatmeal. Back up the tower steps, passing her bedroom and continuing upward to the roof. Balancing her bowl in one palm she climbed a small ladder and opened a trapdoor to the outside air.

It was freezing. The roof arched upward in a dangerously steep cone, she applied a little chakra to the base of her bare feet, prompting them to stick against the red tiles. The eastern tower was easily the tallest of the four and she often calmly ate her breakfast here, despite many 'concerned individuals' claiming a fall would be an instant, bloody death. That was all they were to her. 'Concerned Individuals'. She didn't really 'know' anyone here, there wasn't anyone she'd really call a 'friend,' except Taisan of course. For some reason Taisan always tried to avoid her meeting people more than she had to.

Without thinking she allowed her eyes to ponder the clouds as she sat on the towers edge, letting her feet dangle from the side, slowly eating through her breakfast. Her white, silk nightgown and long, dark hair danced gently in the breeze.

'_Looks like it will rain tonight.'_ she thought absently, observing a few dark clouds in the east.

Still eating her breakfast she activated the Byakugan, hand seals weren't necessary anymore, once it was activated a certain number of times the body simply remembered what it felt like. Her eyes pierced the rocks below her, before travelling further out to the wide circle of forest surrounding the tower. Continuing on she glanced through the open glades, and the farmlands on which many of the village's civilians worked. She giggled softly as she watched a rabbit hopping through the tall grass several miles away. Further on from the farmland, well out of 'regular' vision lay the edges of another forest. It was too far away to see in detail, but she enjoyed looking at it from time to time. It was off in that direction that most of her old friends and family lived, people who were more than just 'concerned individuals.' She sat there a moment supping on her spoon, going through the faces of family of friends in her mind, when she saw something … disturbing.

'…_fire?'_

In the forest, all that distance away, there was smoke. Great thick globs of it coming from small spots along the horizon … equally distanced apart,

'_Campfire smoke?'_

She continued to ponder them without too much concern, still trying to enjoy her breakfast. She forced a little more energy to her eyes, genuinely curious to the forests strange activity.

'_There are ninja in there…'_ she confirmed, looking along the forests edge she could see their outlines. Too big to be animals, too small to be trees.

Without turning she scanned the horizon in the opposite direction, to the west, finding the same odd outlines along the terrain.

A voice below her spoke up, "What's happening?" she didn't jump, with her eyes she'd seen him arrive a while ago, "What do you see?"

Taisan leaned against the side of the tower, a few inches to the left of her feet, using the chakra in one foot to hold him against the grey bricks.

"I'm not sure … I think we're surrounded … "

Taisan didn't speak for a few minutes. "How many?"

Hinata quickly skimmed the horizon, "I … I can't tell, … yet. They're still about eight hours away from here." she guessed optimistically.

"So … they won't be here till about four?" he whispered to himself, "… if they hurry, ….I'll let everyone know… you go get dressed."

She nodded gently and returned back through the trapdoor.

As the door clicked softly Taisan breathed deeply, staring out at the distant forest thinking about enemies he couldn't possibly see. With a few quick seals he placed the tips of his left ring and middle fingers to his throat.

"CITIZENS!" his voice magnified a hundred fold as his voice echoed through the castle and the village beyond it, "…, ALL NON-MILITARY PERSONEL ARE TO SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. ALL ACTIVE SHINOBI ARE TO ASSEMBLE IN THE FIRST HALL! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! THAT IS ALL!"

Bringing his fingers away from his throat instantly ended the jutsu. He watched as hundreds of people began flocking to the castle doors in an instant panic, seeking shelter. While various scores of ninja climbed the castle walls and entered through windows, some heading for the first hall as he instructed, most checking on their family and loved ones first.

The brown haired ninja stayed fixed against the tower wall for a few more seconds, still watching his flock.

'_Auron … help me.'_

………………………**.-----------------------------------…………………………….**

"Auron-sama, what can you see?" a persistent ninja continued to ask him troublesome questions.

"I can barely see the village at this point, eh? Stop bothering me!" The two years had changed Auron's appearance considerably. He was taller, naturally, but his face had become more masculine, stonier, if you will. His crew cut hair style was abandoned in favour of a more casual ponytail which fell braided down his back to the middle of his spine. As for his clothing, he never wore his dark glasses anymore, deciding that it was easier to hide his eyes by wrapping his forehead protector around them. He still wore his camouflage pants, boots, and mesh undershirt, but his red Chuunin vest was gone, replaced by a red leather jacket which was cut short at the front, but reached down to his boots at the back, creating the appearance of a red flowing cape. The jacket was left open, revealing his chiselled stomach and chest. His vanity never dwindled with age. If anything the nine-teen year old Jounin had become more self obsessed than ever.

"Auron-sama, what can you see?"

He swore only a few seconds had passed since he last asked that.

"Exactly the same as I told you a second ago! Eh?!" he spun on his heel bending down to the smaller man, "Nothing! Now FUCK OFF YOU FUCKING FUCKER!!"

The young ninja disappeared in a poof of smoke, replaced by a moderately sized log.

"… I guess I overdid it… eh?"

………………………**.---------------------------------………………………….**

Taisan had prepared the ninja's in the mess hall, or more realistically an elaborately constructed dinner theatre. Complete with a stage, thick blue curtains, circular tables with small candles in the centre and a large, U-shaped balcony along the wall. Each man woman and child in the room came fully dressed and fully armed. They were stretching and brandishing their weapons boarishly. Yelling amongst themselves. Despite all the energy in the room, despite the brave faces and the shining blades. They were afraid. If not terrified.

"Taoru-dono!!! We will follow you till DEATH!!"

"Tao-sama!!! You can do it!!"

"We'll defend this place with our lives!! Ain't that right!! Taoru-sama!!!"

The loyalty Taisan held among these men was …phenomenal. He hated it. He hated how they cheered for him, he hated how they praised him. Most of all he hated them now, for clanging their weapons together in celebration of his name, in celebration of their very deaths.

'_This is gonna get 'messy'… they won't like this one bit.'_

"Everyone. I'm sorry but … this place doesn't deserve our lives."

In all history, silence was never so thick. It was a total of forty-seven seconds before a single man, woman or child uttered a word. Out of two-hundred and twelve ninja, Taisan was forced to break the silence.

"This is just … a 'place'. What is important … is the people. They deserve our lives … they are the ones we will gladly die for. Our children. Our brothers. Our sisters."

A few hearts warmed once again with hope, albeit temporary. Taisan's words were long and heavy, stretching across the enormous room.

"We're going to evacuate." a few whispers from the back were quickly hushed, "Three Ninja Villages are simultaneously launching an all out offensive on this castle. All non-shinobi's have been brought within the castle walls, I want this rectified. They are to be evacuated immediately, head northeast, then disband. Most likely none of us will meet again."

"But!!! Taoru-sama!!! They will follow us!!!" a young girl close to the front was almost in tears.

"My subordinate and I will stay behind. We will take their attention long enough for the most of you to get away. Those who can't get away, allow yourselves to be taken."

This time an older man up on the balcony yelled down at him, "You're fighting three armies of ninja on your own with a little girl."

Taisan turned to look up at the man, shielding his eyes from the bright lights which shone down on the stage, "I never said it was a good plan …"

"HOW CAN YOU CALL SOMETHING THAT RIDICULAOOUS A PLAN!! EVERYONE HERE SHOULD FIGHT WITH HONOUR!!" the man clenched the table in front of him.

Taisan allowed the man to calm down before asking "… you're from the Country of Earth, aren't you ….?"

The man's grip loosened and his eyes grew wide. He nodded hesitantly.

"…I see … those of you who do wish to remain and fight, may do so … those of you who want to take their chances at evacuation … I insist you take the other citizens with you. Either way, if anybody dies, … that will be the end of your story. Don't expect anyone to remember it … if it ends selfishly." Taisan glared almost menacingly at the older Earth Ninja on the final words.

"YES SIR!!!" they chorused loudly as a new wave of weapon flailing began.

……………**..---------------------……………..**

"I hate it when they call me 'sir.'" Taisan yawned at his table, having just finished directing each group of ninja in their respective directions. It seemed not many were taking his orders to evacuate very seriously.

Hinata pondered his actions a moment. As a brother, he was warm and caring, as a teacher he was serious but nurturing, but as a leader he was pessimistic and uninterested. Always blowing off meetings to meet and train with her instead. She was grateful of course, … but it didn't seem natural … it felt forced.

"Hinata?" he spoke with her privately in the large hall.

"Hai?" she responded seriously.

"Promise me something?"

"… Hai?" Hinata knew that promises meant 'something' to him, so she listened intently.

He didn't respond for a few moments, searching for the right words, "If you are going to fight … I want you to promise to do everything exactly as I tell you to, alright."

Her eyes questioned him for a moment, unsure.

"Even if it means … killing someone you care about…"

Her thoughts drifted for a moment, trying to make sense of the promise, _'killing someone I care about …'_

"I know we'll be fighting against Konoha," she responded finally, "… and I will defend myself and the people as best I can … but, I won't 'kill' any of them ... unless … I have to …"

He admired her resolve for a moment, "… You'll know, … when it's necessary, .. I'll tell you. … I'll tell you 'who' and 'when'…"

The eerie pattern of his words freaked her out a little bit, but didn't dare ask him about it. They were about to be invaded, he had the right to act a little strangely.

"C'mon. I need you if we're going to summon the 'Eagles'." he spoke over his shoulder, already walking down a hallway, hands in pockets. She hurried after him without question.

…………………………**--------------------------------------…………………………**

"NANI!? WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" Naruto stood agape in the midst of the countless shinobi around him. All were staring with wide eyes at a huge fire like creature in the distance.

"It's a summoned creature," Jiraiya informed him, "Like how we summon toads."

"AHHH! COOL!" the excitable ninja jumped on the spot enthusiastically, trying to get a better view of the distant animal.

Jiraiya walked forward, arms crossed along his large heaving chest. Barely paying any mind to the bird or the many ninja's around him that had stopped to gape at it. He'd barely set foot in Konoha when Tsunade had insisted he lead a troop of ninja into battle. He'd had his eyes all set for some of the 'girly' bars he'd missed out on during his training with the orange klutz.

'_This really stinks…' _he whined mentally.

"What 'IS' it? Ero-sennin?"

"… It's a bird I think, It's not made of fire like it looks, just covered in it."

Jiraiya held his chin in thought, _'Someone with incredible chakra would have to have summoned a creature that big.'_

………………**..---------------------------……………………**

Hinata breathed a deep breath as she raised her palms from the smoking, stone floor, sweating a little from the exertion. Taisan removed his palm from her shoulder as well, turning to admire the giant creature which clung to the East tower staring timidly from side to side.

"**What's all this then?**"its voice was high pitched and almost sweet.

Hinata stood to address the creature, raising her hands to her mouth to yell as loudly as she dared.

"Gomen! Akawashi-sama! I need your help!" Taisan formed a few seals and gently placed two fingers against her throat, "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! PLEASE. AID US?"

The giant eagle didn't speak for a moment. Its thick talon's clung awkwardly on the stone tower, not quite capable of gripping it all the way around. It was probably about the size of a small bungalow, but the thick flames which made up its plumage made it appear twice as large.

"**How can I say no to that face darlin'?**" it spoke back to her, its beak opening in what she'd come to accept as a smile. "**You want me to fly over and rough em' up then love?**"

"NO! GOMEN! AKAWASHI-SAMA! WE ARE DEFENDING THE CASTLE!" Hinata didn't enjoy the way her voice echoed and boomed so loudly in Taisan's technique, "PLEASE! STAY AT THE CASTLE AND DEFEND US FROM INTRUDERS! IF POSSIBLE WE WANT TO AVOID CONFLICT!"

"**Righto! Righto! Will do!**" the birds head rose and fell as it spoke, "**Anythin' for you love.**"

"ARIGATOU!" Taisan removed his fingers from her throat and nodded in approval.

"Now you stay here with Akawashi, I'm going to the West side to summon Kamebunta."

"Hai! …. ano … sensei?"

"Hmmm…?"

"Are … are you …okay?"

An uncomfortable silence. They hadn't had one of those since their first few months together. Hinata was certain now … he was scared.

"… I'm …. okay. Trust me. … Remember what you promised." his voice was stern as he left, but he was smiling proudly. Not waiting for her to respond, he was instantly lost in the crowd which moved in to surround the large bird, looking up in awe.

"… Hai! Sensei"

"**Awww. Innat nice, ay? … You know you'll owe me some fish an' vinega' afta' this dontch'a**"

"It's a date, Akawashi-sama," she turned to him giggling.

"**I'll hold ya ta' dat I will love. I'll hold ya ta' dat.**"

………………**-----------------------………………………**

Sabaku no Gaara was as quiet as ever. His eyes infinitely focused. Glaring at the huge castle before him. This cluster of inferiors threatened his village, as the Kazekage, it was his duty to destroy it.

"Kazekage-sama? What are your…"

He interrupted, "Where are my siblings?" his voice was slow and dry.

Baki swallowed behind his veil, "They are further in front, preparing the forward troops."

"And Konoha?"

"As we requested they have come to our aid. They are directly opposite us now, a little further away than we are."

"We are splitting their forces effectively then?" It was such a mechanical plan, to break a single village's defence into three, and simply overpower them. "What of the Rock Village?"

"They are to the North, a greater distance away, it's possible they may not arrive until after nightfall." Gaara crossed his arms, neither annoyed nor pleased.

"Tell the forward shinobi to fall back. I will sink the castle myself!"

Baki smiled behind his veil discreetly, "As you wish, Kazekage-sama."

……………………**-------------------------------…………………………**

Taisan stood for a moment atop the western castle walls. The Wind Country was well within eyeshot now, travelling through the farmlands at a snail pace. Konoha seemed to have stopped a little further out from the vegetative moat, possibly raiding the many farmhouses for supplies. The sand village troops however were a little closer, a lone shinobi strode ahead of the rest, walking quickly through the trees inside the moat itself. Sending chakra to his left arm Taisan slid down the fortress wall, using the arm to slow himself before he hit the curved rocks beneath him. Landing safely and with a defiant grimace he strode forward to meet the sole intruder. His obscenely large sword shook slightly on his shoulders.

………………………**..--------------------------………………………..**

"Hinata-hime! What are your orders?" the boy who asked was young, too young to be here really.

Hinata just smiled at him, "Orders? You were all told to evacuate, you're not under my command."

Every willing missing-nin had gathered on the Western side to confront the Konoha village's invading force. Taisan had announced he would take care of 'the Sand' by himself. No one objected, although many had harsh unspoken thoughts about his sanity.

Effortlessly she used her Byakugan to observe the invading force. Hundreds of them, doubtlessly some would be Bunshin to intimidate them, that's what she told anyone who asked at least. A fair few of the missing-nin had stayed behind, a hundred perhaps, if she was lucky.

"That's the country you came from right?" the boy asked.

She looked down at him again, barely a twelve year old, "Hai."

"It will be weird to fight your old village?" he was very polite.

"Hai." she smiled warmly, kneeling down a little to his eye level.

This was not the response the boy wanted, "Then why are you fighting them? Why don't you run away and join them?"

She subconsciously noted his Mist village headband underneath his thick red hair, with the indiscriminate slash across its emblem.

"… Same reason you haven't fled for your village I would assume."

He didn't seem to understand that reasoning, so she went on.

"Because my sensei is here." she stated, like it were obvious. "Whatever happens, I'm going to make sure Taisan-niisan is safe."

The boy smirked a little, "How corny. The only reason I can't go back to my village is because they'd kill me for leaving."

Hinata wasn't sure what to say. So she smiled politely and turned back to the horizon.

'… _Will Konoha do that to me too….?'_

…………………**-------------------------------…………………………**

"Sabaku no Gaara! Good to see you!" Taisan cupped his mouth to yell across the sizeable distance between them, "How you doing?"

Naturally Gaara didn't respond, preferring to glare with a menacing empty face.

"You've gotten taller since I last saw you!"

Taisan sensed the ground beneath him soften, jumping away just before a small, sand fist clawed at his ankles. The child Kage was standing at least two hundred meters away from him, a fair way in from the forest moat. Taisan stood atop one of the countless ten foot boulders which littered the perimeter of the castle's walls. Between them stood an open pasture, in other words, an unspoiled battlefield.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me?" Taisan smile was huge, far larger than he would use in any natural situation. The boy was a definite threat, as a Kage and a Jinchuuriki, it was entirely possible he could get killed. At times like these, 'Auron's' greatest tactic for dealing with emotionless types, was to be overly emotional in response, trying to be nice to them, generally messing with their mind. Taisan tried to mimic it, but knew he couldn't be doing as good a job as his old friend used to do on him.

"C'mon! Brown hair? Little shorter? Carried a big sword on my back? You're hurting my feelings you know, I practically showed you around that damn village."

Gaara had of course forgotten such trivial things, before his atonement, incidents such as places and people had never stuck in his mind.

"As you are alone … you are the leader here …" It wasn't a question, but the tanned teen quickly treated it as one.

" …. what if I am?" he responded impudently, jumping aside as another set of palms reached from the dirt for his ankles, landing on another rock.

'_This kid can control sand from this distance?'_

Gaara began a slow walk towards him, his eyes tightly honed on his enemy.

Taisan struggled to think of ways to confuse his enemy, "You know … I remember you in the village. Your entire purpose was to kill anyone other than yourself. Right? You told me that once. Why are you a Kage now? Protecting people?"

Gaara continued his walking, if he was fazed, he didn't show it.

"… Protecting people is tough … I've tried it, but I just can't get the hang of it. Protecting one I can handle, ... and I think I've been handling 'one' pretty well …"

Gaara continued to pace, only a hundred meters distance now.

"I guess you don't have that problem? I'm sorry. But I have to ask you to leave this place."

Gaara again said nothing.

'_Damn … he's not taking the bait…'_ Taisan frowned in annoyance, still desperate to attract the boy's attention.

"… I don't want to kill you. And to be honest I don't really care anymore if you kill me. But I can't let you kill the one I'm protecting. So back off …now! Before you force me to do something I'll regret …."

Taisan was sure he saw Gaara's left little finger flinch a little on that one, but it could have been a trick of the light as the Sun hit the forest behind him.

"… You keep coming … and I guarantee I'll destroy whoever you're protecting. Be it your whole village, … Or just your family," Taisan felt bad just saying it, he'd fought his whole life against people thinking that way about him.

Another flinch, right index finger this time.

Gaara stopped moving, only about thirty meters away now. Without uttering a word he raised his left palm and pointed directly at the older teen.

Within moments Taisan found himself jumping from rock to rock as they decomposed beneath his feet and tried to swallow him. Flipping wildly from side to side.

"FINE! HAVE IT YOUR WAY!"

Leaving what little protection the boulders were, he sped along the pasture toward the Kage. Hand gripping the hilt of the sword on his shoulder. Gaara stood detached as ever as a thick sand barrier grew before him. Without hesitation Taisan aimed for it, swinging the sword out from it's casing and grinding it across the grainy surface.

The sand buckled and broke quickly, but gave the young Kage just enough time to step backward calmly and summon another pair of hands to reach out from behind the teen for his ankles. The claws ripped through his blue camouflage pants, but failed to grip skin as Taisan jumped through the air once again, skipping backward as hand after mineral hand attempted to pull him under.

"An aerial based fighter." Gaara speculated calmly, arms crossed.

Every step was becoming dangerous now, the ground was softer than it should have been, threatening to suck him beneath it at any moment. Sand was already gripping tightly onto his clothing, weighing him down like concrete. Regardless he came at him again, once more the barrier protected the boy Kage, just long enough for him to step backward just inches from the blade's reach. Gaara's eyes seemed to smile smugly inside their black borders. Taisan took another few test swings, from below and above before realising it was futile at this level.

'_Not enough energy … too much in the summoning … and that other … thing …'_

Taisan jumped backward once more, running his left palm along the blade until it glowed a soft blue, running a small amount of chakra into it. Curious, Gaara allowed him to continue, recalling the sand into his gourd.

Taisan grit his teeth as he poured chakra into his weapon.

"…This blade, … the 'Testudo', … now burns with my chakra pattern. …. I told you already, … I don't intend to kill a Kage today … If you want to live, … leave. And take your army with you."

Gaara remained silent.

"I see … so you're okay with this …?

"…"

"…then I've done everything …"

The sword rose slowly, parallel to the ground, held with one hand aiming carefully for the boy. The ominous blue glow pulsated, its sharp tip reflecting the sun light in a small light flare.

"…everything I can … "

Walking slowly forward at first, readjusting the sword with each step, his left arm bent in front to balance the weight on the back of his wrist.

"….TO KEEP MY STORY CLEAN!!!" he yelled across the pasture hysterically.

"Come…."

Within moments the short steps became a full blown thrust, darting in a straight line for Gaara's smaller body. The red headed boy watched calmly, unimpressed by the direct joust. He raised a palm and instinctively created a small crater before his approaching adversary. Taisan's left foot jabbed at the edge tripping.

'_Damn!...'_

The sword embedded into the earth as his left arm dropped with the fall. His right arm held the sword at the leather coated grip as its chakra dispersed harmlessly into the ground.

"It is now my turn." Gaara stated simply, raising his right arm, extending his fingers into an open palm.

Within moments sand scaled the embedded sword and held fast to Taisan's fingers. Taisan felt his knuckles crack under the sand coating. Around the navy clad ninja another sand wall had appeared, some arcing above him into a dome, blocking any attempts to jump for safety, the rest slithered up his legs and tightly his body still, tugging at the fabrics of his clothing.

Gaara watched silently, palm still extended. Taisan struggled momentarily before succumbing. He looked up at the boy as the sand reached his throat. His brilliantly golden eyes now saddened, watching the boy just as silently.

"So … we're definitely gonna do this?" he asked, possibly to himself.

"… Desert Coffin."

The sand condensed suddenly, cracking several of his ribs and immediately crushing the bones in his legs. Taisan's smirk remained as his kidney's burst the pupils of his eyes dissipated and were replaced with a thick red substance which seeped from beneath the iris. Dripping like tears down his eyelashes and resting on his grinning lips.

Gaara saw several light cracks appear on the teens face, just before it disappeared from sight under a second layer of Gaara's Desert Coffin.

"**BFFTTTT!!!"**

A muffled explosion burst through the sand coffin, most of the sand shot across the sky as glass, digging into the charred boulders and burnt pasture. Gaara's gourd protecting him immediately as some smouldering pieces of glass flew toward him.

The contents of the coffin lay empty as the darkened sand broke apart and crawled back into Gaara's gourd.

"… An 'Explosive Bunshin' … it is your signature technique … is it not?" Gaara stated calmly as his perfect defence dispersed once again, this time orbiting him in small globs.

Unfazed by his failed Jutsu Gaara calmly spoke, "A clone made from minerals in the earth, … which once ruptured, reacts with the oxygen in the air to create an explosion … A simple enough technique. … Invisibility is also your talent, is it not?"

"…you do remember me?" Taisan's voice came from his left side, though no one stood there.

"… It's futile … I have already seen through your technique … There are several invisible explosive clones, circling me … I can feel them walking across the sand on the floor. … There is a 'lighter' one to my left … with a nickname such as the 'invisible army' … you leave yourself open."

Taisan said nothing.

The Kazekage let out a sharp breath through his nostrils, calmly bringing both palms to the ground, his eyes still watching the empty area around him, "DESERT WRATH!"

Immediately any remaining grass covering the field was sucked with a sickening plop beneath the dirt, which was itself promptly absorbed beneath a huge layer of fine, brown sand. Gaara held the Jutsu a while longer, extending its reach several hundred meters in all directions, the boulders themselves sank beneath the depths. The castle held its ground while the earth around it receded like a low-tide.

Finally satisfied, the sand manipulator adjusted his fingers against the floor, "DESERT REQUIEM!"

The course material dropped several feet, instantly compacting. Half of Gaara's left lip raised slightly in a soft smirk, as more than twenty small muffled explosions could be heard beneath the ground, there were little bumps in the dirt like gopher holes. A few in the distance exploded more violently sending debris in all directions. Some however, were scarcely ten meters from his position.

Gaara made no celebration for his victory, instead carefully judging the condition of his enemy beneath the earth.

'_His body is … damaged … but not dead … yet.'_

He raised his right arm again, holding his fingers outstretched parallel with the Earth. Under his breath he announced the jutsu …

"….Desert Funeral!" Bringing his fingers together, cracking his knuckles as he did so in perfect harmony with the dirt's shuddering.

Gaara stood shocked for a moment …. the body which his jutsu had just crushed … he couldn't feel it in the earth anymore. No waste … nothing. The sand had fallen in on itself. It had disappeared.

Only displaying a fraction of his shock the calm ninja uttered a shaky, "… na…nani?"

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!!!" **(summoning technique)**

Gaara looked up suddenly. Surprise for the first time evident in his expression. Along the walls of the castle a thick shadow was barrelling down the cracked stone blocks, leaving a trail of symbols and messy kanji in its wake.

'_A shadow … no? … ink?'_

The trail hit the ground and darted immediately toward the Kazekage, thickening and sending off smaller branches as it went.

Gaara attempted to regain composure as he raised both palms, prompting the sand to block its path and strangle it. It had no effect. The ink naturally travelled over the sand imprinting along it. Trying a different tactic, Gaara ushered the tainted earth apart, but found the ink ran deep into the earth, continuously drying onto the next layer of sand as quickly as he could move them.

'… _damn!!'_

The trail continued its frenzied dart, Gaara threw himself backward, inwardly cursing the weight of the large gourd he wore. The series of symbols stopped in the position Gaara had just moments before been standing. Quickly … but carefully, it created a small circle, barely thirty centimetres in diameter. Then it lashed out again, in all directions this time, helplessly Gaara allowed it to pass over him. The ink's pungent odour repulsed him as it harmlessly imprinted on his skin and clothing, darting beyond him to form a complicated and intricate circle, filled with more kanji, symbols and signatures.

'_It smells of blood ….. This is … a summoning scroll?'_

"Arigatou, Gaara-kun," Gaara slowly reared his head upward in disgrace. Before him, leaning nonchalantly against the great stone wall, was the man he had so confidently killed moments before. Several clones surrounded him in similar positions along the bricks, each grinning slightly.

"It would have been really tiring to gather all that Chakra into the ground by myself."

Gaara leered, his menacing appearance distorted under the dark ink which clung in thick, sticky globs against his skin. He was about to send a wave of sand against the castle and the bastard upon it, when all too quickly the ground beneath him began to shuffle and vibrate. Twisting and reforming beneath his feet, … rising.

The creature had stirred.

'_The summoned creature! ... It's ascending!!!'_

"DESERT REQUIEM!" his Jutsu had no effect as 'something' began to rise from beneath the desert surface of the pasture.

It rose quickly, within seconds swelling to reach the height of the castle's walls … and still growing. Gaara rolled awkwardly along its skin, as he fell half buried in the avalanche of sand, dirt and rocks which travelled with him. His gourd shattered instantly, softening into a blanket to support the boy's meagre frame as it toppled helplessly along the hard and fragmented surface. He was carried away by a small clump of sand floating peacefully a hundred meters above what was now a desert floor beneath him. The creature continued to rise. Recovering his breath, Gaara saw small portions of its body beneath the falling sand and earth around it. Small fractions of brown, covered in deep cracks and crevices, the occasional appearance of softer deep blue skin, which bulged with thick layers of fatty muscle.

'… _So large ….'_

The creature finally stopped growing, standing motionless for a few moments. Its upper body still covered in thick clumps of brown earth the size of mansions. Its huge body entirely blocking the castle behind it from view, its giant and menacing shadow spread across the tower to the forest on the western borders.

………………………**..-------------------------------………………….**

Naruto's ridiculously optimistic outlook was dampened as a second smaller mountain grew from behind the Missing-nin's fortress, blocking the setting sun.

"ERO-SENNIN!!!!"

"I see it!" Jiraiya immediately removed his 'research' telescope to gaze up at the giant.

Naruto stood dumbstruck in the creatures wake. Something even bigger than Gamabunta … just didn't seem possible.

'_It can't be real … a Genjutsu … it has to be …'_

"So … another summoned creature … hmmm?" Jiraiya continued to examine with his gold telescope, waiting for the huge patches of dirt to recede from the creatures body. The many shinobi around them stood apprehensive for a moment, waiting for the older man to give a signal of some sort.

"This is!!! …" Jiraiya's pupils shrunk, "This isn't something the Sand can take care of alone …."

………………………**.------------------------…………………**

The creature shook what the Kage could only assume were its shoulders, sending another avalanche of dirt, sand and rocks plummeting to the Earth. Panicking, Gaara ushered his sand courier backward and upward to avoid the many landslides as well as the dirt which ricocheted from the floor. Looking up again to the giant creature, Gaara could make out five men standing on its wide shoulders … bunshins **(clones)**.

One called out to him, "In case you were wondering, …. that 'Lighter One'" he formed air quotes with his fingers, "… Was a Kage Bunshin. **(shadow clone)**"

The others chuckled, mocking the Kage's stupidity. Gaara could only glare angrily while his body breathed heavily, reeling from his fall and the general stress of the 'Desert Requiem.' He wasn't injured of course, his 'mother' would never let that happen.

"Oh!!!" Another announced, "Allow me to introduce Kamebunta, King of Tortoises."

"… **Ko-Ni-Chi-Wa"** it's voice was gruff and unpleasant, speaking slowly to carefully articulate each syllable.

Gaara could see it more clearly now, it was a giant tortoise, standing on its hind legs. It had deep aquamarine skin which was covered in warts the size of large boulders. The shell it carried was phenomenally large, along its stomach it was hued a light brown, with deeply indented cracks running horizontally along the upper chest. The back of the shell was a much darker brown colour, which stuck out more dominantly and in a more rounded shape. Pattern-wise the shell was nothing more than a poorly decorated mosaic with unsystematic shell pieces running along its length and breadth. Between each piece were wide moss covered spaces, filled with what appeared to be a thick mud. At the animal's shoulders two giant, hollow cylinders protruded out from the back of the shell … canons. Similar instruments were attached to its arms, extending further than its short stumpy fingers which were held tightly in two muscular fists. Billions of barnacles, mussels and other sea creatures clung to its body, Gaara gagged softly at the smell of dead fish which the beast secreted.

The lower part of the creatures face lay hidden inside the shell, its face was wide however, and so were its large weary eyes which stared down at him drearily. Its breath was deep and heavy, with each inhale steam leaked from between the cracks of its shell.

"**Ta-Ru-San …?" **the creature's eyes turned to one of the men atop its shoulders, "**Eh-Na-Mi?"**

The teen upon its shoulders took a moment to consider the options.

"Gaara-kun … I have to ask … how do you control the Shukaku?"

Gaara stood upon his 'transport,' " … how do I … what?"

"How do you control the Shukaku?"

"… I devote myself to my village … and protect it from those who threaten it's future."

Seeing the disgraced but vengeful look in Gaara's eyes Taisan sighed and nodded to the filthy creature. The animal's eyes narrowed as its gaze returned downward to the young Kage on his floating pillar.

"… strange … I do the same thing, but I just had to devote myself to one person."

Gaara blinked slowly, full realisation not quite dawning on him, "…."

Gaara flinched as the giant creatures cheeks into what was no doubt a twisted and greedy smile behind the shell. The Kage didn't waste time, instinctively calling up a giant barrier of sand to create distance between the creature and himself, constantly adding to it and compressing it while the sand he stood upon glided in the opposite direction, attempting to achieve some distance.

The massive creature raised its right arm slowly, grunting loudly from the effort. The cannon on the arm's wrist vibrated softly, shaking the arm in unison. Steam exhausted from its body suddenly as, with a loud sweaty 'glurp,' a spherical ball of grimy brown water shot from the creatures wrist, bursting the sand wall apart moments after impact. With a 'crack', thousands of pounds of mud dripped from the sky coating the pasture below in a thick brown slime.

Hearing the explosion, Gaara turned back, just in time to widen his stoic eyes in horror as a second sphere tore across the empty sky after him. He opened his mouth to scream but it was cut off into a muffled gargle as the sphere enveloped him. His 'transport' immediately dissolved in the thick brown liquid, some of it latching onto his skin as a protective shield. As the aqueous ball fell from the sky and hit the forest floor. Caught in the torrent the Kazekage was dragged dangerously across the terrain, swallowing litres of water as he collided with all manner of trees and rocks which came into the path of his limp and broken body.

When the flood finally settled the Kage hung … soaking and unconscious from the branches of a tree … miserably defeated.

Taisan let out a sigh of relief as he watched the water subside. Grateful that the young boy was still breathing from the branches.

"**I LE-VUH NA-OW?**" The giant questioned.

"Not yet!" he pleaded, "… Give me at least half an hour. We still have to deal with them." He pointed beyond Gaara's broken body to the farmland further out. The Sand shinobi had already doubled their pace to aid their fallen prince.

"**TA-WEN-TI MI-NITS!**" Kamebunta retorted, letting a huge burst of steam out from beneath the hood of his shell.

Taisan sighed heavily, the other clones raised their eyebrows and crossed their arms in disapproval, "Fine … but don't kill any of them…!"

The giant summon, listened but never agreed to fulfil his 'masters' request.

…………………………**----------------------------…………………………**

**- End Chapter 10 -**

…………………………**----------------------------…………………………**

… _next chapter?_

"_**KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"**_

_Hinata tried to speak, to comfort the creature, but her small voice was either drowned out by the birds cry, or choked out forcibly in the creature's wrath. She was knocked from side to side, she could feel herself losing consciousness. With no oxygen and now a rigorous beating …._

"_RASENGAN!!"_

'………_that …..that voice…?'_

…………………………**----------------------------…………………………**

_­_**a/n** … well lots of references to other Anime's in this one.

That was also my first real fighting scene, and I hope I did well. Please let me know how I could improve with comments.

As you might have noticed I've given Hinata a summoning contract with Eagles, this is a reference to Dame Wren's 'Two Halves.' As for Taisan's summoning contract you might have noticed a startling similarity between his summon and some other anime character/s, I won't say who it is as it might be too obvious then roughly what Auron's or Sujin's could be.

GOMEN GAARA!!!! I'm really sorry to all Gaara fan's out there. I'm a big fan of his too, and in my defence I tried to give him the best fight I could.

Oh yeah Auron's ponytail and red cape is in honour of Ed Elric from 'Full Metal Alchemist.' Albeit Auron's a lot taller.

There were probably some other references in there which I can't remember right now, if you spot any let me know.

I decided to add a preview for the next chapter in this one, this trend may or may not continue. It's copied off of some other fan-fiction's which used the same thing.


	11. Kurenai's Revenge

**Naruto and any of its affiliations are not owned by me**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

'Writing' or 'Emphasis'

"**Evil Talking"**

………………………

_previously…._

_When the water finally settled the Kage hung … soaking and unconscious from the branches of a tree … miserably defeated._

_Taisan let out a sigh of relief as he watched the water subside. Grateful that the young boy was still breathing from the branches._

"_**I LE-VUH NA-OW?**__" The giant questioned._

"_Not yet!" he pleaded, "… Give me at least half an hour. We still have to deal with them." He pointed beyond Gaara's broken body to the farmland further out. The Sand shinobi had already doubled their pace to aid their fallen prince._

………………………

**Promise of Change**

**- Chapter 11: Kurenai's Revenge, … Na-Naruto-kun… -**

………………………

"The comrades in Konoha are parts of my body. The villagers believe in me, and I believe in everyone. That is what a Hokage is supposed to do." - First Hokage

………………………

**. Hidden Village of the Missing-Nin . 5:30pm . INCIDENT .**

"GAAAAARRAAAA!!!" the blonde girl's cries were swallowed whole by the mass outbursts of rage surrounding her. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she watched her little brother's all but lifeless body be swept away in a sphere of murky water. Hundreds of ninja around her gaped in disbelief, while others screamed words of anger and hate toward the giant creature towering before them.

"G – Gaara…?" Kankuro stood in shock for a few moments, the three puppets at his fingertips sat limp and crooked, croaking slowly in a mechanical manner. Time stopped as he watched gravity and the manufactured tide play 'God' with a Kazekage shaped doll. Concentrating his rage, Kankuro clenched his teeth and burst from the lines of Sand Shinobi around him, sweeping along the dirt farmlands and the tall grass at break-neck speed, unable to stand by idly a moment longer.

The two Sand shinobi had aged well. Temari was now a much taller and fuller woman of eighteen years. Four, strong, hair-bands pulled her frizzing, blonde hair tightly in four directions on the back of her head. As would be expected of a Sand Jounin she wore a green vest over the top of a thick, purple, battle kimono. The middle child, Kankuro, wore similar clothes to his younger days. Seventeen now, to indicate his maturity the thick purple markings on his face had become more dominant, exaggerating the size of his eyebrows and chin.

"That's a summoned animal. Right Kankuro?"

Kankuro wasn't surprised to see that Temari had already caught up with him, she'd always been more nimble than himself. She was continuing her momentum, slowly outrunning him, hidden tears still fresh on her lightly tanned skin.

"…Yes,"

Kankuro's facial marking readjusted as his face turned into an aggressive scowl.

"It will disappear eventually," she stated with monotonic calmness, "… the bigger ones don't stay that long. We'll get Gaara back and temporarily retreat … Understand?"

How she managed to keep a straight face she would never know. A part of her was screaming for vengeance, to rip the head from the disgusting shellfish and boil it in an enormous pot. While simultaneously slicing open it's 'summoner' with a rusty knife and pouring salt into his wounds. But then again, Ninja we're trained to handle emotions like these.

"… the rest of the village can handle the castle once 'it' leaves." she continued, faking a half confident smile.

"…Yes," Kankuro heaved the words from his lips, his eyes tightly honed on the huge beast before him, "But … I have a favor to ask."

"…Nii-san **(brother)**?" Temari blinked a few times, cautiously gazing at her brother's furious expression.

"… Rip this place apart by the seams!" she could hardly hear the request through his clenched teeth.

She huffed cockily, her tomboyish attitude crushing her authoritarian act, "Just try and stop me!"

………………………

Taisan watched as two ninja broke formation and sped toward the castle … his castle … his monastery. He didn't need to get any closer to guess who they were.

"Sibling ties … I guess I … I guess I almost know how that feels."

He continued to ponder over them innocently as they grew larger on the horizon. Until of course the weight of the situation once again fell upon his shoulders, demanding action.

"… Kamebunta!" he sighed.

The creature issued a deep, rumbling, throaty growl from beneath him. The animal was indignant by nature. It didn't relish having a mortal stand upon his shoulders. Never mind a bunch of shadow clones.

"Cover me?" he asked respectfully.

What could be seen of the beast's cheeks raised and creased slightly, an undeniable smile from behind the thick, heavy turtleneck of tortoise-shell. The Missing-Kage smiled back gently as he spun on his heel and allowed himself to fall backward down the creature's front, several clones following suit. Kamebunta cracked his neck a few times, the action alone gushed hot steam from beneath the thick plates of his shell. Groaning with effort, the beast raised both arms, carefully aiming the thick iron shotguns from it's wrists.

"**CHU-U-NI-N BRA-A-T.**"

Perhaps if Kamebunta had held his callous, dry tongue to himself, he wouldn't have been oblivious to the giant frog shaped shadow forming around him.

………………………

"Naruto …."

The frog hermit spoke loudly and gruffly as he pushed up his left sleeve, adjusting his feet on the grass, centering himself. The enemies' beast had only just been summoned, Jiraiya could still see great quantities of sand levitating around it.

There was still time.

"…ero-sennin? **(peverted-hermit)**" Naruto whispered beside him, before he jumped backward, well aware of what the white-haired-man was preparing to do. Many ninja around him followed suit.

"… there is something I will teach you when you are older, neh?" he bit into his right thumb, then stained his left palm with the blood it produced, "… when it comes to animal's like turtles … they're very much like blonde women …."

'…_blonde women?'_

That was all Naruto heard as Jiraiya thrust his blood soaked hand into the earth, immediately covering him in thick smog which erupted into a fully grown and behemoth sized reptile.

Gamabunta, king of toads.

"…. WHEN YOU GET THEM ON THEIR BACK!!! THEY'RE FUCKED!!!"

Without instruction the red toad pounced forward, clearing the farmland within seconds. Jiraiya held tightly on its head using only his feet, as his long dreadlocks blazed behind him like fire. The giant toad came dangerously close to accidentally bulldozing the castle, before it bounced in one organic leap above and beyond it.

The castle had already been in darkness, shadowed by the Giant Tortoise behind it. And now with a giant toad flying overhead …. The only light available was in fact that which issued from the giant fiery bird. Akawashi watched the giant toad leap over it, … and did nothing. No amount of fish was worth taking on a 'Bunta.' **(King/Boss)**

Its flight unhindered, Gamabunta descended quickly, smiling confidently as the unsuspecting 'Tortoise King' grew closer.

and closer….

and closer….

Their collision let of a shockwave …. A shockwave so powerful that the trees in the distance shook and the castles slate roofs collapsed upon themselves. The weaker, western most tower collapsed completely. Kamebunta roared loudly in surprise as a thick sticky hand pushed against his shoulders while a great force heaved against his shelled back. And a cold, sharp blade slipped between his shoulder blades and into his neck.

"**Long time no see, … Tortoise Freak!"**

Gamabunta jeered as he held tightly against the larger animal's back, careful to avoid the two cannons upon its shoulders.

"… **Ga- - Ga-ma-bu-n-ta?!" **

The sea-tortoise turned his neck as far as he could, to stare outraged at the large red-lipped-toad on his back. It's grinned with sage pride back at him.

"… **Ku-so!! (Damn it)"**

………………………

Hinata stood frozen and terrified as a very solid, cement wall hurtled toward her in a blizzard of shrapnel and debris. The shockwave of the two colliding 'summons' had all but completely destroyed the eastern walls, and their remains now flew toward her at breakneck speed. From a birds-eye perspective it might have looked like a small ring, a mere ripple on water … Harmless. But she wasn't looking down on it. She was before it … Helpless.

Hinata's dark hair billowed wildly behind her as a torrent of wind pushed against her, robbing her of her breath and conveniently the fearful scream that would have followed it.

Hinata turned to run, to flee, but there was nothing behind her but a sheer drop from the West castle wall, a sheer several-hundred-foot drop. She spun on the spot for a moment, desperately searching for someone … anyone … to save her. Those standing beside her moments ago had cowardly taken their leave after the 'Giant Toad' had appeared in the forest, fleeing to some unknown location. Abandoning her …

It hit her like a ton of bricks. Literally. Debris of every nature, flying at speeds she couldn't contemplate. Forcing her off the edge and down the castle wall like a cannon. She choked and sputtered as the dust invaded her mouth and nostrils. The blue-haired-girl held her eyes tightly shut whilst in the fury of the tidal explosion.

With her eyes tightly shut, she relied on the Byakugan's 'piercing sight' which gave her some clarity as to what was going around her. What she saw was … unnatural. She saw 'things' around her, consuming her … 'burning things?' The grey haze grew bright suddenly before darkening again around her.

'_What's going on?'_

Wings! Wings thick with orange and red plumage were embracing her body, cushioning her fall. They fell together, Akawashi holding her tightly between his feathers, in a bizarre Fire-Hinata-Eagle sandwich. Hinata could feel the rubble hitting the great-eagle's body, each piece exploding with a loud "P-SHEW" as it made contact, shaking her remorselessly between the bird's wings. Their landing was …. rough… Hinata was held still between the feathers of the giant summoned animal as they hit the rocky surface and bounced painfully down the cracked step-stone like rocks. They rolled briefly down a sloping surface until they screeched to a graceless and painful halt, only to moments later be suddenly buried beneath a great landslide of the broken stone wall.

Her eyes opened slowly and were greeted by an immediate stinging pain as ash rubbed against her cornea. She found it immensely difficult to breathe, each breath was labored and scalding hot and she swallowed them. She could feel soot on her tongue, even behind her teeth. It was everywhere, soot, smoke, rocks, small flecks of burning kindling, bricks of different colours and sizes, everything that was heavy or painful she could think of. She quickly realized the she and her summon had been buried alive. Struggling proved to be of no avail, trapped underneath the large and unconscious bird. Her lungs were already beginning to give out, burning beneath her ribs. Crawling was a lost cause as well, and if she attempted to expel the large creature she'd be instantly digging her own grave as a foreboding pile of 'ex-castle' crushed her small frame.

'_Why… Why am I always the one who needs saving …' _she thought miserably, _'I couldn't save myself and Akawashi-sama came to protect me … and now we're both going to …. d-…d…'_

She evaluated her options, pushing back her grim thoughts.

'…. groping blindly in the dark …. No!'

'… Using an explosive tag … would cause more harm than good. No!'

'… Digging myself out … can't do that without expelling Akawashi and causing a cave in. No!'

The Hyuuga heiress lay back and nestled into the birds feathers, slowing her breathing so that she wouldn't overstress herself and waste the little oxygen in her scarlet coffin. She briefly pondered how it was that Akawashi wasn't burning her body, even though his body was made of fire …

'… _I will not give up!'_

With some effort she forced her right arm out in front of her as far as she could, hoping to get it close to the large eagle's head. She let a short burst of chakra exude from her palm. She watched it weave through the dirt and fade a few centimeters from his beak.

'_Nothing … again…'_

She repeated the step, a little more chakra this time, and aimed further outward. This time it hit but the bird didn't move, clearly unconscious.

'_.. please. Akawashi-sama! Wake up!'_ she pleaded mentally, accidentally swallowing a small talc tasting layer of soot.

More aggressively she tried again, exerting so much chakra she felt her fingertips sting. The bird's eye snapped open immediately, the pupil dilated and glazed over as the blinding pain of cracked ribs and a broken wing swept into the creatures system.

"**YAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!"**

'_sorry….!' _she apologized as she was rocked heavily upon it's body.

Its panicking cry echoed loudly in her head. It's hefty wings twisted and shook, crushing her body between them. It vibrated, continuing to screech loudly, as it burrowed to the surface.

"**KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"**

Hinata tried to speak, to comfort the creature, but her small voice was either drowned out by the birds cry, or choked out forcibly in the creature's wrath. As she was knocked from side to side, she felt the world around her growing dark. With no oxygen and now a rigorous beating ….

'…_. please … I … I don't want to die this way …'_

"**KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!"**

…

silence.

"RASENGAN!!"

The voice was muffled, as if from some great distance ... she ignored the pain in her body as she was once again tossed around between Akawashi's wings, focusing on the voice. There was something … familiar.

'………_that …..that voice…?'_

……………………….

In an aging oak tree, not far away, a dark figure perched serenely between the branches. The castle wall before him shattered from end to end. He smiled calmly.

"Destruction is so wonderful, …. wouldn't you agree? … Baki," the man mused as he brushed his long dark hair away from his yellow slit-eyes.

"Should you really be here? If you're found it will be a hassle," the Sand-Nin spoke from the trunk of the tree, looking past the brown veil in front of his eyes. "I told you I could handle this without you."

"Don't worry about it," he spoke unenthusiastically, "Perhaps, … I should ask how things are proceeding?"

"Exactly as you estimated. It's chaos down there. Ninja are fighting everyone and everything in sight."

"Such is the fate of war amongst shinobi. With jutsu such as 'Kawarimi' **(replacement)**, 'Bunshin' **(clone)**, and 'Henge' **(transform)** a war zone becomes little more than a giant mixing pot. It happened during the last great war too."

"What is the purpose of this?" Baki asked feverishly, questioning his master was never well received.

He chuckled devilishly, his shoulders shaking as he laughed to himself.

"To complete what we failed to do in Konoha, of course," his long dark hair swayed as he tilted his head to look down, "We're going to set the windmill in motion."

"They're just a bunch of fools!" a third voice spoke up from the other side of the tree, "Doing this means nothing! We're wasting time!"

Baki took a moment to bite on an insult. He'd come to accept that the young boy was far more powerful than he looked.

"Now, now. We can't all be blessed with such magnificent eyes, can we? Though you're correct. A war without the Uchiha's 'Sharingan' IS meaningless," the older man chimed playfully, licking his lower chin between sentences with his long pink tongue.

"We're going to wait for them to kill one another, and attack ourselves?" the veiled man inquired tentatively.

"Why waste our energy? We'll allow the Rock country to play with them. And if that's not enough … the Jinchuuriki will finish the job."

At this Baki jumped from the branches to stand in front of the long haired man in shock, "Orochimaru-sama! The Kyuubi is …! We should leave! Now!"

A pale hand raised and fell upon his cheek, caressing it gently beneath the veil.

"Don't you want to see the fireworks?"

The hand clenched into his cheekbone, and pulled back, ripping away a thick layer of fleshy skin. Blood dribbled down the older man's arm, which was quickly sucked dry by his elongated tongue.

"Kabuto …"

Kabuto pulled away the remainder of the Sand Jounin's face, replacing it with his pair of black rimmed spectacles.

"You worry too much, Kabuto …. This is just an experiment after all."

"…. an experiment?" the ruggedly handsome teen enquired from the base of the tree, arms folded defiantly.

"It is relevant to you too, Sasuke-kun. You see, the leader of this place has a similar relationship with a Konoha shinobi, as you do with Uzumaki Naruto-kun."

"What of it?" Sasuke shrugged, pulling up a falling piece of his purple robe.

Orochimaru chuckled again, "Ku, Ku, Ku … if Taoru-kun dies, another 'Mangekyou' user could emerge."

"… impossible."

"Could any of them really kill that boy?" Kabuto mused as he fell elegantly once again to the base of the tree.

"He'll end up killing himself," the Snake Master shrugged, "… he is a human time bomb. Under extreme circumstances it's possible for him to release his Bijuu."

"But … the Bijuu is an imperfect copy …"

"Exactly … it will die moments after escaping the host … and as a final declaration of it inhuman hatred … will destroy everything in the area …" Orochimaru took another moment to snicker, "Ku, ku, ku … the explosion itself could destroy Konoha-gakure twice, … maybe three times over."

"Baka …" Sasuke commented from below, "… the 'Mangekyou' user would be destroyed along with it."

Orochimaru disappeared in a gust of leaves, reappearing again beside the fifteen-year-old Uchiha, wrapping a friendly arm around his shoulder. Sasuke made no movement to stop him. But his upper lip raised a fraction in a threatening manner.

"Actually, I gave him a little 'present' years ago which could save him. It's quite similar to yours. But … Come now, surely you realize by now I'm more interested in you … Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru's face grew dangerously close, his long tongue extending down his front. "It doesn't matter if it blows up … or if the boy kill's it … either way we are advantaged, Ku, ku, ku."

"Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto raised an arm to summon his attention, "If that is the case, we should definitely leave this place. We're well within range of the explosion. … If it occurs." He added.

Bitterly the Snake charmer pulled away from the young boy, closing the distance between himself and Kabuto. He didn't speak for a moment, staring intently into Kabuto's green eyes. Daring him to interrupt again.

A few moments passed before the elder man smiled and turned away, "I want you to stay here … Yakushi Kabuto."

"…Why?"

Orochimaru smiled, staring blankly for a moment at the grey haired man.

"Because I hate you…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Kidding ku, ku, ku…" he snickered again, indifferent to Kabuto's sigh of relief, "Direct the Sand ninja's to the front, if you really feel like adding to the confusion, tell them Konoha has betrayed them."

"Playing the spy again?" Kabuto asked nonchalantly, reapplying the 'Baki' face he'd 'acquired' month's earlier.

"It's a shame we can't stay and add further confusion to the war… oh well … perhaps next time," he smiled optimistically, privately eyeing the Uchiha boy greedily.

The older man and the youngest sunk slowly into the earth. Kabuto waited for them to vanish completely before letting out a long held breath.

'_Even if you say that … Orochimaru-sama … even without the Uchiha clan … have you forgotten the original doujutsu users … the Hyuuga's?'_

………………………..

'_HEY!!! Wake up! There's no time for this! Ku-so! Please, wake up!'_

'… _just a few more minutes sensei … I had a very weird dream …'_

'_HEY! Somebody! Anybody! Does anyone know any … ummm … whats-da-word … 'wake up' jutsu! Hey don't run of! I need a hand here!'_

'…… _there was a big fight … and Akawashi was there .. and you were there … and there was a big 'frog' … and explosions … very weird …'_

'_HEYHEYHEY! I can't fight you now! I'm helping the injured!! Ku-so…… YOU ASKED FOR IT!!!!'_

'… _then I was buried with Akawashi, and … and then I couldn't breathe … and then Akawashi was crushing me … do you think it means anything sensei?'_

'_drip'_

'… … …_. ….drip?'_

'_drip'_

'… _I don't understand … sensei? sensei? Sensei?!'_

………………..

For the third time a raindrop landed on the cream-white face of Hyuuga Hinata. Her eyes opened slowly, taking a leisurely amount of time to adjust. Still dazed she smiled pleasantly yawning a little and stretching out her arms calmly, and rubbing her eyes. Every neuron in her mind was telling her that as soon as she opened her eyes the cherubs would be there waiting for her, welcoming her to the morning, especially her favourite 'whiskered' cherub.

Her eyes opened to… darkness.

Her dark blue hair had brushed onto her face sometime in the night. The long silk like strands almost completely obstructed her view, giving the impression of a thick-wooded dark-blue jungle. Not the least bit fazed, she took her free right hand and traced the inside of her nose with her forefinger, gently pulling her hair away from her right eye. There it was, the 'whiskered cherub' smiling this morning, and for some reason it was upside-down, and much closer than she remembered.

"I must have left the 'Byakugan' on in my sleep …." she muttered absently, rubbing her eye.

"Hello."

Both eyes burst wide open at this. As far as she was aware, statues couldn't speak. The smiling she could understand, her imagination could put that in. But she'd never given it a voice before.

"… … … eeh?!?"

As her mouth opened a small breath of smoke issued from between her lips and she was alarmingly reminded of the horrible soot-filled burial she had suffered in her dream. The taste was disgusting.

Hinata jumped backward suddenly, hitting her head hard against an upturned rock. She pulled herself up to sit on her knees as she cradled her now swollen, and possibly 'insane' head. As soon as she did this she found herself pulled back again so that she was laying in someone's lap.

"Hey. Sis' are you alright?" his strong hand held the back of her head, feeling around calmly, "I don't think you broke anything, and you're not bleeding, … but there is a bit of a bump."

Her arms were now, accidentally caught in his, preventing her from moving the long hair covering her face. It didn't take her long to realize this pose was very unbecoming.

"… You shouldn't be doing this … My fiancée will be mad at you for touching me like this."

"Huh?" the voice spoke back abruptly, "I'd think your fiancée would be very happy I saved your life, dontcha' think."

"…my life."

She guessed, whoever this person was, he was probably about her age, exactly what he was doing in her room she definitely wanted to know.

The boy stopped feeling her head and lay her down on his thigh. She could hear him grinning proudly and laughing between his teeth. "Eh-heh-heh. Yeah. You were being eaten by this big bird or something. And I saved you. No need to thank me. That's what heroes like me are meant for."

"…"

Hinata bit her lip, _'I hope he didn't hurt Akawashi too badly. … WAIT! That was a dream…. I'm sure of it!'_

"Hey! You could thank me a little bit!"

"… gomenasai." **(sorry)**

Hinata felt her weight adjust slightly as the boy let out a heavy sigh. She took this opportunity to move her hands back to her sides and sit up. It was dangerous to be alone with any of the missing-nin's, Tai-sensei had warned her countless times that they weren't all trustworthy.

"Excuse me, where is sensei?" she made a small attempt to brush her hair away from her face but it kept readjusting back again.

"You probably shouldn't move too much, you took that fall pretty hard."

"Where is sen-'cough'-sei?" she repeated, gagging slightly as she tasted something 'ashen' in her mouth.

"Here drink this," her hair still blocking her sight she found the boy placing a smooth metal hip-flask in her hand. Realizing an intense thirst, she snatched it, and drank from it greedily, tipping her head backward for the fastest contact with the cool liquid. After the first mouthful she turned away to spit out a disgusting looking black mixture, a combination of water and soot she supposed.

"Ewwwww …"

She used her left hand to motion an apology as she continued to drink. She handed it back empty, apologizing for her selfishness.

"… It was very warm in there … I guess I was a little dehydra-…"

Without warning a strong arm twisted around her waist as she was lifted and carried away. She felt herself be placed back down seconds afterward.

"What are you doi…"

"Shhh…" he brought a finger to her lips and pushed her head down.

'_What on Earth! Taisan-sensei was right to keep me away from the missing-nin boys.'_

She prepared to attack the pervert when she heard someone appear suddenly not far away. Momentarily blind she chose to listen quietly.

"…. Where is she damn it! HINATA!!!"

She recognized the voice immediately.

'_Tai-sensei!'_

She jumped up to yell out to him but was suddenly restrained with a soft hand around her mouth and pulled backward into the missing-nin's chest. Silenced. His hand held her hair painfully tight against her mouth, but she could see a little bit better when the hair was pulled straight than when it was just hanging loose.

"…what are you doing! Dattebayo!" he whispered close to her ear, "You WANT us to get caught!"

'… _Why is he so scared of being found by sensei? Everyone respects him in this village.'_

She struggled briefly, making him restrain her a little tighter.

"Shhh! Dammit he's not gone yet!"

She struggled harder on hearing the word 'yet,' she didn't know what this guy was planning to do with her after her teacher left, but she wanted no part of it.

He gave her a sudden jerk to calm her down and whispered a little aggressively, "What the hell is wrong with you! Do you have a death wish? What team are you in? Who's your sensei?"

"MmmmMmmMMmMMmhmMMm!" she choked between his fingers, immensely frustrated that she still hadn't even seen her assailant.

"What?!" he lowered his hand to her chin.

"I said … "

She was cut off again as his hand covered her mouth again. She felt herself being pulled backward carefully along the rock floor. The way he was pulling her practically had him sitting underneath her body, until he stopped and found herself sitting between the boys thighs still facing away from him.

"Kuso** (Damn it)**. That last one must have been a clone."

"MmmMmmMmm!" his hand moved again so she could continue, "I said, I can't see, and you're hurting me."

She would have added something about the erotic position she felt herself to be in but was cut off, by a sniping comment.

"How can you not see! You're a Hyuuga aren't you! I mean even if you do wear your hair over your eyes, it's pretty obvious."

"I don't wear my hair over my eyes!" She argued back, refusing to activate the Byakugan out of pride and spite, "Let go of me."

She felt him grudgingly release her and she stepped forward immediately, limping slightly as her muscles regained focus. She turned to face and point an accusatory finger at him, but stopped herself.

"Ah… ano … thank you for saving me."

"Your welcome …" his voice came from lower on the ground, she guessed he hadn't bothered to stand yet. "… So who's your sensei?"

'_How can any missing-nin not know who I am? Taisan is like a celebrity here …He must be lying … but why?'_

"Uhhh? Sis'?"

"… Well …" she pointed her finger over her shoulder, "… That was my sens…"

The boy moved instantly, reaching out a hand behind her neck and pulling her downward. Hinata barely uttered an 'eep?' before she was pulled over his shoulder and carried off again.

"WHAT-are-you-doing!!" Hinata started off yelling but controlled herself pretty quickly, she didn't stop hitting his back with her bare hands though. And were her legs not being tightly held she may have given him a few dangerously aimed kicks.

"Put-me-down…"

It was getting really annoying now, she thought, how every time she tried to say something it was getting cut off. This time it was an explosion that stopped her midway.

A loud one.

He set her down softly, but put his hand on her shoulder to chastise her, using his left hand to shake his finger.

"You know, in battle, you don't have time to complain about how people choose to save your life, you should just be grateful."

".. .. .. .. battle?"

The blue-haired girl turned away, raising her hair for the first time to get a good look at her surroundings.

Ninja's …. everywhere!!

It was like a scene from an old Japanese samurai movie. It was raining lightly, the sun was just about to set, and perched on rocks, or in the gorges … Hundreds of them, fighting each other, everywhere. She couldn't see a single spot where someone wasn't fighting.

"Don't worry, ne **(sentence ender)**? There aren't as many of them as it looks. The other Hyuuga's say that a lot of them are clones'n'stuff."

The boy grinned as he moved to stand beside her, raising both arms behind his head. Hinata saw the slightest glimpse of orange from the side of her eye. She didn't dare turn, her brain slowly registering a few facts.

First off, the battle had already begun. Secondly, this boy may not actually be a missing nin. Thirdly, this boy ….

"HEY!!!" he exclaimed beside her, "I bet that's where you came from. Dattebayo! C'mon the rest of the Hyuuga's are all up there.

He grabbed her wrist and attempted to pull her away to his left, but she didn't move. She stood frozen, staring blankly out at the field.

"Hey, wake up…" he came closer to her, bringing his face just a few inches from hers.

She turned her head slowly toward him, the whole time using her right hand to keep her hair from her eyes. For the first time, their eyes met, Hinata was greeted by an intoxicatingly bright, and honest blue hue.

The warmest eyes she had ever known.

"…. Na-Naruto-kun…."

………………..

"TAORU!!!" Kurenai screamed loudly, at the back of the teen.

He turned slowly to face her, realization clear in his eyes. That realization quickly turned into hatred … malice. He ran at her, one hand tight on the sword upon his back. Kurenai wasted no time, bending over backward as he swung the sword over her head, kicking him in the ribs to send him off balance and finally stabbing him in the stomach, with her kunai.

She looked up into his eyes, hoping to see some shred of regret or apology, but instead there was nothing. His eyes were completely coated in 'light.'

"Ku-so!" **(Damn it)**

The dark-haired woman jumped back just a little too slowly as the clone blew up in her face, sending her flying and rolling along the gravel. When her body finally came to a stop, a large sharp piece of metal embedded into the ground, inches to the left of her head.

"Why? …"

Kurenai ignored the burning sensation in her right arm, and stared up aggressively to the golden-brown eyes looking down at her.

"Why? … why can't I kill someone I hate?"

A few drops fell on her forehead, she told herself it had to be the rain.

"I hated you … so much … why can't I … Why can't I …"

"You hated me?! You hated me?! I hate you a thousand times more than you could possibly have hated me." she stated slowly and coldly.

Taisan buckled hearing this, bending down to sit on his knees.

"Why can you kill me …? But I can't kill you?"

"It's called a guilty conscience!"

"…"

"Stop acting like some sorry little victim …" she took a deep breath, "YOU raped ME!!!"

Again he buckled, dropping his head a small space above hers. Like he'd heard it for the very first time.

"…. I raped you…."

The rain came down much harder now, it stung against her skin, as she pulled a second kunai from her pouch and raised it against his throat.

"…. I raped you …"

"Yeah … I'm sorry, truly I am, that you have this 'thing' in you … this 'thing' you can't control … but if that's the case… then you're better off dead, and letting me have my revenge."

She slid the knife against his skin so easily, a fresh stream of blood poured out instantly, dripping into her hair into a thick and sticky pool.

"…Arigatou … Kurenai-san." **(Thankyou)**

The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kurenai sat up, not quite sure how to feel. Her hair was clean. It wasn't him.

'… _You … You idiot…' _she thought miserably.

……………………………

**- End Chapter 11 -**

……………………………

**A/n**. Please Comment or Review.

Well a few dedications in this I think.

The whole Hinata having hair over her eyes thing was inspired by Mahou Sensei Negima, and the character Nodoka, who is very similar to Hinata and wears her hair over her eyes. Plus I thought it would be funny to have Hinata with Naruto without her knowing who it actually was. Or him for that matter.

I hope the whole rape thing wasn't TOO obvious from the start. I'm honestly wondering if anyone knew what was/is happening with that. The last bit with Taoru and Kurenai, I felt the position they were in was very similar to Naruto and Sasuke at the end of their big fight. At least I hope that's how it felt.

You'll notice I have a quote at the start of the chapter from the first Hokage, I just thought it would be a nice thing to put in character quotes at the start of each chapter from now on. To be honest I was originally going to do it at the start of the last chapter but I forgot.

Also just a note, someone mentioned that Tortoises don't live in the Ocean, Turtles do. I've decided to just call Kamebunta a special Sea-Tortoise. Besides I have a 'Golden Eagle' with feathers made of Fire in this story. I think we can all ignore a swimming Tortoise.

Finally an apology to anyone who may be reading and enjoying this story for the long delay. If there are many of you then I'm sorry but I didn't know. Throw in a comment please if you are enjoying it, it adds to my reasons to continue. This chapter is dedicated to a fan who took the time to talk to me on messenger and give my the motivation I needed to keep on going. Depending on reception I will do my best to keep these chapters coming. From this point on my writing style may be a bit different as I may be rusty. But I will do my best. Till next time.


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